#quick prompts

*

182) Lee Deku, Ler Kaminari

It was quiet out here.

Deku lay with his eyes closed, soaking in the ambient sound of grass and trees rustling in the warm evening breeze, the occasional cricket chirping. His life had become so chaotic recently, it was difficult to find a moment of silence to simply be with his thoughts.

Inside the dorms, the others were busy setting up for an all-night movie marathon – one that Deku fully intended to join and was looking forward to – but before that, he’d just…needed a minute. He’d observed the twinkling stars for a while, contemplating Shigaraki and All For One and the giant battle that was looming on the horizon sooner than any of them would like to admit. It had been a wonderful respite, but he knew that someone would be coming to get him any time now. In fact, he was surprised he hadn’t heard from anyone already. They wouldn’t have started without him, right?

“Tickle attack!” someone shouted, startling Deku out of his reverie, but not soon enough for him to avoid said someone pinning his folded arms behind his head to the ground and scribbling wildly into his armpits.

“EEEK!! Ehehehahahahahahaha wahahahahahahait!” he cried, bursting into happy giggles quite freely, though his body instinctively squirmed and kicked at the feeling. It had been so long since he’d been tickled at all, let alone surprise attacked like this – he loved it already, and he didn’t even know who was behind it yet.

“Gotcha, Midoriya! Whatcha doing, huh? Stargazing?”

It didn’t take him long to place the teasing voice.

“Kahahahahahaminariehehehehehehe!” he squealed, his helpless position only adding to his ticklishness. “Ahahahahahaha, plehehehehehehease!”

The blonde grinned down at him, sparks flying between his fingertips. “Oh? You want the full tickle treatment, huh, Midoriya?”

Deku couldn’t help but squeal in panicked excitement. “Nononono, not thahahahahahat, please – DEHEHEHEHEHENKI!!”

Above him, Kaminari giggled along with him for a few moments as he activated his quirk just enough to add an extra ticklish jolt to his system, making Deku laugh so hard he went silent, shaking his head and kicking his legs in defeat.

“All right, all right – I think you get the message.” The blonde climbed off of him and ruffled his hair. “It’s movie time, bro! Let’s go! We’re starting in five!”

By the time Deku had recovered, Kaminari was back in the dorms.

The greenette grinned and took off after him.

It was movie time!

*

183) Lee Bakugou, Ler Kirishima

Kirishima watched Bakugou for a full minute before saying something. He’d fully expected the blonde to either give up or find another way, but when neither of those happened the redhead said, “You know there’s a stool, right?”

Bakugou whirled around, surprised but trying to mask it with a scowl. “I don’t need it! I’m not short!”

“Didn’t say you were.” Kirishima smirked. “But I think it would make whatever you’re trying to do a little easier.”

The blonde gave him a scathing look and waved at the frozen waffles sitting on the counter beside the fridge. “The hell does it look like I’m doing?”

“Trying and failing to make breakfast, if I had to guess.”

“Tch.” Bakugou turned his back to him and resumed reaching for the toaster that sat on top of the fridge in their dorm’s kitchen. “Screw you, spiky hair. I don’t need a damn stool.”

Again, Kirishima stood there watching him struggle, although this time his friend kept glancing over his shoulder, fully aware he had an audience now. Knowing arguing was useless, the redhead shrugged and continued his stride into the kitchen, pretending to just let Bakugou do what he wanted.

Until he got right up behind him, scribbling his fingers into the blonde’s exposed armpits.

“GAH!!” Bakugou screeched, bringing his arms down so hard he jammed his elbow on the fridge handle in transit. “Asshole, stohohohohop it!”

“You’re in the way,” Kirishima replied playfully and reasonably. “Some of us actually want to get started with our day. I need orange juice.”

“Juhuhuhuhuhust ask me to mohohohohohove, then, idihihihihiot!” Bakugou cackled, squirming and wriggling uselessly as his redheaded friend continued to dig into his weak spot. “Gahahahahaha, quihihihihihit it alreheheheheady!”

Smirking, Kiri did as he was asked and let up, allowing his friend to collapse against the counter to catch his breath. Acting completely unbothered, he opened the fridge, retrieved the orange juice – they’d have to restock, he noticed – and set it on the counter beside the waffles. Then he moved the stool that was sitting on the other side of the fridge around to the front and stepped up on it, reaching to retrieve the toaster.

Bakugou struck, as Kiri knew he would, but only to find the redhead’s skin was hardened and un-tickle-able.

“Jerk! What, you can tickle me but I can’t tickle you back?” the blonde grumbled as Kiri set the toaster down and turned to grin at him.

“Not when you’re being this stubborn,” he teased, raising wiggling fingers to him again. “I think someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

“Kiri, don’t you d-AHAHAHAHAHARE!!”

They got to their breakfasts…eventually.

*

184) Lee Dabi, Ler Hawks

Dabi’s first reaction was to tense up when he felt someone come up behind him. In his line of work, it was always dangerous to be snuck up on. But the touch that followed was gentle – arms wrapped around his middle and feathered wings encircled him like a protective cocoon – and then the villain found himself relaxing into the only person he’d ever let his guard down for.

“Gotta quit doing that,” he muttered halfheartedly, closing his eyes with content upon feeling his partner’s face press into his back.

Hawks’ chuckle was soft. “Nah.” He held him in silence for a long minute, then said, “Something’s up with you.”

“It’s not.”

“It is.” The hero hugged him closer. “Won’t you tell me about it?”

Dabi rolled his eyes. How did his boyfriend always know when something was off? It was unfair. He could almost never read him in return.

Which is probably why Hawks’ next words startled him so much.

“Tell me, or I’ll have to tickle you.”

The villain tensed a second time, but he didn’t try to run. Not yet. “There’s nothing the matter – h-hehehey!”

“I warned you.” Hawks’ voice was warm and playful, and his fingers gently tracing up and down Dabi’s skin were very, very ticklish.

“D-Dohohon’t, you stuhuhuhupid bird – shit!” The brunette bit back a snort when his boyfriend squeezed his hips, making him jerk in surprise. He tried to dart forward and away, but Hawks was strong, and he still had the feathery cocoon to deal with, which now felt more like a coffin with the way the feathers were twitching, eager to join in.

“Tell meeee~” Hawks sang annoyingly, purposely brushing his weapons along his partner’s neck and ears, his arms.

“I hahahahahate you – fuck, okay, okahahahahay!” Dabi relented quickly, a tweak to his ribs the final straw. “Stop already, you ass! I’ll talk, okay?”

Hawks snuggled into him again. “That was surprisingly easy. Did you want to tell me but just needed a little encouragement? Hmm?”

“Shut—”

“You wanted me to tickle it out of you, Daaabi?”

The villain’s resolve quickly snapped back into place as he broke free of his boyfriend and turned with a playful snarl. “You know what? Screw that!”

He tackled Hawks to the ground, and soon enough it was the hero who was being tickled into submission instead.

They could talk about the other stuff later.

*

185) Lee Todoroki, Ler Kaminari

“Ooh, Toshi, look! Look at that giant leaf pile!”

Although he wasn’t Toshi – Deku’s nickname for his boyfriend Shinsou – Todoroki turned and glanced at where he was pointing anyway, as did the other two boys with them.

“Yo, that’s gigantic! How long do you think it took them to do that?” Kaminari asked in awe.

Deku was beaming from ear to ear, tugging at his boyfriend’s hand. “Come on, Toshi! Let’s jump in it!”

Shinsou gave his partner a soft smile. “Knock yourself out, babe. I’m good.”

But Deku was having none of that. In the next instant he’d used his super strength to pick Shinsou up and race toward the pile, ignoring his halfhearted protests as he leaped into the air and sent them both crashing into the dry leaves, disappearing from view completely for how many there were.

Todoroki watched on in fascination, surprised when after a moment, Shoji came up beside him and said, “No one will think twice if you want to do it too, you know.”

“Oh. It’s…not that, it’s just…” Todoroki averted his gaze as the lovebirds clambered out of the leaves, laughing and play wrestling. He always hated admitting that he hadn’t done something that normal kids would have done growing up. “I’ve…never…”

Kaminari overheard and turned to smile at him. “Dude, all the more reason to go for it! Come on, you’ll never find a pile of leaves more fitting. They’re begging to be jumped in!”

“I…I don’t know. Aren’t I kind of old for that?”

“Are you saying we’re all old? Those two just did it. You can, too!” Kaminari skipped over to him and started nudging him toward the leaves from behind. “Come onnn, you know you wanna~”

He did want to. He felt oddly giddy at the thought of abandoning his façade and just jumping in without a care in the world. But…

“Ah! N-Nohohohoho, hey! Don’t tihihihihickle me!” he suddenly found himself giggling, Kami’s fingers curling into his ribs from behind as he pushed him onward. “Ehehehehehehe, Kahahahaminari!”

“Jump, jump, jump!” the electric teen began to chant, joined swiftly by Shoji and finally Shinsou and Deku as they caught on to what was happening.

Todoroki squealed at one more purposeful tickle to his sides, then finally took off at a sprint and launched himself into the leaves.

It was prickly and damp and smelled of dying foliage, but as Todoroki emerged back into the fresh fall air, grinning from ear to ear, he couldn’t help but feel it was the most comforting thing in the world.

He’d be picking leaves out of his hair for the rest of the afternoon.

Totally worth it.

*

186) Lee Kirishima, Ler Mina

“M-Mihihihihina! Wahahahahait, I’ll screhehehehehew it up!” Kirishima whined through his giggles, squirming in place as she dug into his sides from behind, holding him firmly but not firmly enough that he couldn’t get away if he wanted to.

“Whaaaat? I’m just motivating you!” she teased, propping her chin on his shoulder as she tickled, grinning at his trembling and snickering form. “You did the eyes just fine. Now he needs a biiiiiig smile!”

Kiri clenched the carving tools harder in his hands as he arched his back, trying desperately not to accidentally hurt either one of them. “Plehehehehehehease!”

“Quit being a wimp, spiky hair,” Bakugou grumbled from across the circle, smirking knowingly at him. “You can’t fool any of us, you know.”

“Yeah, man, you love a challenge! Especially when it’s a tickly one~” Kaminari added, sparking his fingertips and making their redheaded friend cackle even more.

The five of them were sat in a circle together, each with a pumpkin to carve for Halloween. Mina and Bakugou both had white pumpkins while the rest had the typical orange ones, and speedy worker that she was, Mina was already finished with hers. Hence her scooting over to Kirishima and daring him to try and carve the rest of his pumpkin while she distracted him.

He had yet to try and move his tools back to the task at hand, though.

“Come on, Kiri~” she teased into his ear. “Give him a big, ticklish smile, yeah?”

He jolted when her fingertips grazed his ribs. “Whyyyyy?!”

Sero chuckled from the opposite side of him and set his tools down, curling his fingers teasingly. “I can always give you an extra boost if she’s not giving you enough motivation.”

“Nonono! I gohohohohot it, I got it!” Kiri screeched, finally raising trembling hands to his pumpkin, hardly daring to try and make the first carving. He just knew he was going to mess it up. He could always do another one later if he needed to, but…

“Yeeeep!” he squealed when she found his ribs again, digging into his pumpkin canvas accidentally, making a wide line from just beneath its eyes to nearly the bottom of it. “Mihihihihihina!”

“Uh-oh! Guess you’ll have to make a laughing pumpkin now!” she giggled, wrapping her arms around his waist and dragging him away from the task at hand, all pretenses out the window. “Here, let me inspire you some more!”

“Mihihihihina – wait, no, guhuhuhuhuhuys!” Kirishima shrieked with elated panic when Sero, Kaminari, and Bakugou all dove for his now prone form as well. “Waitwaitwait, this isn’t fahahahahahair! GUHUHUHUHUHUHUYS!!”

When it was all over, everyone agreed that Kirishima’s pumpkin came out looking the best.

*

187) Lee Bakugou, Ler Todoroki

The body behind him shivered, then snuggled closer to Todoroki instinctively. The half-and-half boy realized he was lying on his left side; therefore Bakugou wasn’t able to warm up like he usually did when they cuddled together.

Wordlessly, Todoroki rolled over so they were facing each other and wrapped his left arm around the blonde’s bare shoulders, hugging him close and warming up that half to help stave off the cold.

Bakugou relaxed almost immediately. Todoroki smiled gently at him, his eyes catching on the open window behind his boyfriend, allowing a cool night air to seep through. They really should close that; it was getting too cold overnight to keep it open anymore.

“Thanks, Shoto,” Bakugou murmured, curling in on himself as he cuddled closer to Todoroki, making his boyfriend’s heart expand with undying affection and happiness.

“Anytime,” Todoroki replied in a soft whisper, taking in his sleepy partner’s face. The flutter of his eyelashes, the slope of his nose, the cut of his jaw…the peppermint hero could never get enough of him. He loved every part of his grumpy partner, especially when he was smiling and snuggly like he was now.

Absently, he trailed a finger from the back of Bakugou’s neck to his shoulder blades and finally his spine, making the blonde let out a small gasp and arch into him, eyes cracking open in weak protest. “Shoto.”

“Can I?” Todoroki asked, suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to tease him, to warm him up in a different way. “Please?”

Bakugou locked eyes with him for a long moment, then sighed and covered his face with his hands as he muttered, “Fine.”

Todoroki beamed and dragged his fingers around to Bakugou’s side, gently scribbling along his lower ribs and belly. His boyfriend squirmed but tried not to roll away, reluctant giggles spilling over his lips in a sleepy cascade.

Then, remembering the way he’d shivered and gotten them into this position, the heterochromatic boy got an evil idea. He smirked, sneaking his right hand into the fray, dragging ice-cold fingernails down Bakugou’s chest to his belly while still pinching his ribs with the left hand.

 Bakugou gasped in surprise and rolled onto his back, but Todoroki followed him quickly, lying on top of him to keep him still while alternating warm and cold tickles to his bare torso. The blonde snorted and squeaked. “Stohohohohohop, you jeheheheheheherk! I’m cohohohohohold!”

Todoroki pressed a quick kiss to his lips and whispered, “Not for long~”

*

188) Lee Deku, Ler Shinsou

If you’d asked Deku how he managed to lose his boyfriend in a pet store of all places, he would have pouted and proclaimed that it was Shinsou’s fault for wandering off in the first place. Yet here he was, diligently scouring the aisles for his partner and continuously coming up short. Dogs, cats, birds, fish, rodents – he went through them all, but there was no sign of the purple-haired boy anywhere.

Then suddenly, Deku saw him! All the way in the back at the adoptables section – the last place he should have been. The greenette hurried over to stand beside him, but Shinsou barely looked his way as he approached, his eyes focused on something behind one of the glasses, looking completely and utterly in love.

Deku was only a little bit jealous.

“What are you staring at?” the smaller boy finally asked, trying and failing to see what had captured his attention.

“I’m staring into the void,” Shinsou murmured, unmoving and unblinking.

Deku felt a pang of concern. Was his boyfriend okay? He was almost…hypnotized.

Then he saw a pair of eyes blink, and he understood.

“Oh, there’s a cat in there,” he said.

“This beautiful baby is not just a cat. He is my soulmate.”

“Hey!”

“Look at his little face!”

Deku had to admit the cat was adorable, but just to mess with his partner, he mused, “You know, I’ve heard that black cats are bad luck—”

Shinsou whirled on him, aghast. “Don’t you dare say that!”

At first Deku panicked – he’d only meant it as a joke – but then he saw the wicked glint in Shinsou’s eyes moments before there were hands around his waist, thumbs dangerously close to his hips.

“Take that back,” the purple-haired boy warned.

Deku glanced at the cat, then back at his partner. “T-They’re not really bad luck.”

“Now, help me find someone to fill out the adoption papers.”

“Toshi, you can’t bring a cat back to the dohohohohohohorms! Hey!” Deku squealed, slapping a hand over his mouth as he succumbed to his giggles while Shinsou mercilessly drilled his thumbs into his hip bones right there in public. “Nohohohohoho! Someone will seehehehehehehehee!”

“We’re adopting him.”

“We cahahahahahan’t!”

“This cat and I were meant to be together. The red string of fate has bound us.”

“I’m beheheheheheheing upstahahahahahaged by a cahahahahahat?!” Deku whined, squirming and pushing uselessly. “Shihihihihihihihihinsou!”

They didn’t go home with a cat that day…but only because Deku promised to let Shinsou do a lot more than just tickle him in return.

*

189) Lee Deku, Ler All Might

Deku was lost in a world of laughter so intense he had entirely forgotten why he’d been so worked up just a minute ago. He squealed and squirmed as All Might loomed above him, tickling the ever-loving snot out of his ribs and sides.

“I seem to recall you having an especially bad spot, Midoriya,” the former pro hero mused playfully, grinning down at him. “Where was it again?”

“Nohohohohohohoho!” Deku whined through his giggles, both trying to roll out of his mentor’s lap and not getting anywhere at all thanks to his strong grip. Despite all the man had lost, he still had muscle enough to keep the hero in training in his place.

All Might smirked at his protégé, satisfied that he’d been able to erase his anxieties at least for the moment. The boy had come to him worrying about yet another aspect of the looming war ahead, and as soon as he’d invited him to sit on the couch with him, the master had struck, grabbing Deku and lying him down so his torso was in his lap, primed for a good tickling. It was obvious he’d needed it, and it had been a while since All Might had decided to play around with him in this way. It was overdue for both of them.

Now Deku’s flushed face and happy smile made All Might grin victoriously. The boy looked like a strawberry, and he hadn’t even gotten to the main event yet.

“Where was that spot, Midoriya?” he teased, dancing all around it on purpose. He knew full well where it was; it was just fun to mess with him like this. “You know I’ll find it eventually.”

“Ehehehehehehehe! Plehehehehehehehease, All Mihihihihihihight!” Deku whined, though his efforts to get away were minimal at best.

“Was it here?” All Might teased, pinching his bottom ribs and making him squeak. “Or…here?” A skittering along his belly, which forced Deku to snort on an excited cackle, one foot kicking the air to alleviate the sensations. “Orrrr…maybe it was here?” Finally All Might pinched his hip, and Deku flailed so hard he nearly sat straight up again.

All Might quickly overpowered him, grabbing his wrists and pinning them above Deku on the seat cushion beside him, using his other hand to scribble and dig ruthlessly into the boy’s weak spot.

“GAHAHAHAHAHAHA ALL MIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIGHT!!” Deku screamed, tossing his head back as throes of laughter spilled out of him faster than he could keep up with. He struggled and kicked, but it did him no good. Or perhaps, he didn’t want it to. “PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

“Please what?”

“IT TIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHICKLES!!”

Exactly as he’d thought. Deku didn’t want this to stop. He’d needed this just as much as the hero had suspected.

“Does it? Well, then.” All Might found himself curling his fingers in a little more, drawing another scream of hysterical laughter from his student. “I must be doing something right.”

*

190) Lee Kaminari, Ler Shinsou

“Come on, Shin!” Kaminari said, tugging on his partner’s hand to drag him outside into the snowy morning. “These snow angels won’t make themselves!”

Shinsou allowed himself – begrudgingly – to be pulled into the cold air, bundled up in his coat and scarf. He loved the blonde’s enthusiasm, but… “How can you be so excited about this? Snow is just frozen water, and you don’t like water because of your quirk, right?”

“But snow is so pretty and fun! And you can make snowmen out of snow; you can’t do anything like that with water unless you freeze it.”

“What happened to snow angels?”

“I’m doing those first.” Kaminari grinned and pulled Shinsou even harder. “Come onnnn, you know you wanna make them with me!”

Shinsou opened his mouth to protest, but at that moment his boyfriend stumbled off the edge of the patio step – now hidden under the snow – and went tumbling, taking the violet-haired boy with him. They landed in a heap, one on top of the other, and were instantly met with just how freezing cold it really was out here.

“Are you okay?” Kaminari asked, laughing as he splayed his arms out to the sides to immediately start making the wings of his first angel right then and there.

Shinsou stared at him incredulously, then went for the only tickle spot he could easily reach under all these layers of clothes – the blonde’s knees. “You did that on purpose!”

“Eeeek! I did nohohohohohohot! Shinsou!” Kami squealed, his hands flying down to try and stop his partner, effectively messing up the masterpiece he was attempting to create in the snow. “Dohohon’t! It tihihihihihihickles!”

“Does it? I couldn’t tell,” Shinsou teased, smirking. “But you deserve it! I wasn’t ready to jump into the snow yet, and you dragged me down into this freezing hell with you!”

“I’m sohohohohorry – ACK!! Waitwaitwait not underneheheheheheath! BAHAHAHAHABE!!” Kami tossed his head back and shrieked as Shinsou found the weak spots along the backs of his knees, making him collapse in laughter, giving up on his angel – and on escaping – entirely. “EHEHEHEHE PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

*

52) Lee Atsushi, Ler Akutagawa

It didn’t take a genius to know that Akutagawa was not the type of man to want to partake in anything as silly and fun as a water balloon fight.

Atsushi decided he was going to try and get him to have one anyway.

It was finally warming up outside after they’d been sequestered indoors due to the weather so much (not that the weretiger was complaining; snuggling and watching movies with Aku had been his favorite thing ever), and he wanted an excuse to go outside and play around with his boyfriend in the bright sunshine.

Akutagawa – predictably – refused. So Atsushi gave him some higher stakes to fight for.

“We’ll each get three balloons – three chances to hit each other. First one to get hit with a water balloon gets tickled by the other. How about that?”

With grim determination and focus, Akutagawa declared war.

The fight had been raging for several minutes now, but thanks to the both of them being so used to each other’s fighting styles and tricks, neither had landed a single hit so far. They both had one balloon left. It was now or never.

“What happens if neither of us win?” Akutagawa asked, seeming unfazed as he stared his partner down.

Atsushi shrugged and grinned. “Then we’ll just have to resort to a tickle fight.”

The mafioso scoffed. “I think not.”

Finally, after another few minutes, Atsushi threw his final balloon – and missed.

Akutagawa gave him a predatory smile. “I do believe I’ve won this war, weretiger.”

“No way! You haven’t hit me yet—”

“But you were the first to lose all three of your weapons. Therefore…” He dropped his last balloon and lunged for him with Rashomon. Since Atsushi had let his guard down and wasn’t prepared, he was easily overpowered and pinned to the ground, at which point his boyfriend fell upon him and began tickling all over with almost excited fervor. “…you lose.”

“Wahahahahahahahait! That’s not fahahahahahahahair! Ahahahahahahahakutagawaaaa!” Atsushi squealed, struggling uselessly in Rashomon’s grip and cackling as his partner tickled him freely all over his worst spots. “You jeheheheheheheherk! This wahahahahahahasn’t the deheheheheheheheal!”

“And what are you going to do about it, weretiger?” Akutagawa taunted, smirking wickedly down at him, squeezing his hips and sides in rapid succession. “Do you intend to fight me off for real? No more games?”

“I juhuhuhuhuhuhust wahahahahahanted to hahahahahahave fun with yohohohohohou!”

“Are you not having fun now?”

Atsushi cursed, which only made the mafioso grin even wider. “You knohohohohohohow what I mehehehe-HEHEHEHEHEANT!! AHAHAHAHAHA NONONO WAHAHAHAHAHAIT, RYU—!!”

Akutagawa chuckled and leaned down to kiss the shell of his boyfriend’s ear, a single finger wiggling into his belly button as he whispered, “I’m certainly having fun, Atsushi~”

*

53) Lee Chuuya, Ler Dazai

“Hah! See that, Dazai? I made it to first base!” Dazai smirked at Chuuya, whose cheeks instantly matched his hair as he grumbled, “All right, all right. Shut up.”

When their respective bosses had decided to have an exhibition baseball game “just for fun” before the local teams started hogging the practice fields, neither side really knew what to make of the idea. Still, they’d all grudgingly come out to play…and to their surprise, found they were actually having a lot of fun, some minor scuffles and incidents aside, of course.

“I’m surprised you swung at all,” Dazai commented as he watched Higuchi come out from the Port Mafia’s dugout to bat. “You’re so small your strike zone is practically nonexistent. You could have just taken the walk.”

“Fuck off,” Chuuya snapped, shoving at him lightly before taking a foot off the bag and turning his gaze back to the game.

“You’re not going to lead?”

“Not with you playing first baseman.”

“Oh, come on, what do you think I’m gonna do?” Dazai chuckled, shoving at him lightly. “You’ll need all the help you can get to make it to second base, chibi~”

Chuuya shot him a withering stare, though his blush was not lost on the detective. “Shut up.”

“Go on,” the brunette teased, poking the mafioso’s side. “Just a step or two.”

“Don’t,” Chuuya grunted, trying to cover up a snicker. Then he yelped and instinctively tried to shimmy away as Dazai pinched him with more insistence. “Asshole, I have to get back on the bag before your guy pitches again – let me back!”

Dazai conceded and allowed him to tag the base again before Tanizaki wound up for his next pitch, but as soon as that was done, he wiggled a finger into Chuuya’s hip, forcing him off the base again with a slew of giggles.

“Dahahahahazai!” Chuuya watched as Higuchi swung and missed, fighting his way back to the base even as the detective abandoned his glove, grabbed onto his ribs, and started tickling with purpose. “Ahahahahaha, fuhuhuhuhuhuck, stop it! We’re in the mihihihihiddle of something – Dazai!”

Another couple of pitches later, Higuchi struck out, ending the half inning. Chuuya sagged in relief when Dazai let him go, then caught himself and shouted, “Just wait until you make it to third base, bastard! I’ll show you!”

Then he realized what he’d said, and how loud he’d said it, and he slapped a hand over his mouth as if it could take the words back.

On his way past him to get his glove for the outfield, Akutagawa muttered, “Keep your private lives to yourselves, sir.”

Dazai laughed hysterically the entire way back to the Armed Detective Agency’s dugout.

*

54) Lee Higuchi, Ler Gin

“Ichiyo?”

The use of her first name would have startled Higuchi more if the single word hadn’t broken into the quiet like a clap of thunder, even if it had been whispered. Everything was so silent out here, and she was so tense. She’d have been able to hear a spider crawling on the outside of the tent, she thought.

“Y-Yes?” she stammered in hushed reply.

“Are you nervous, being alone out here with me?”

At this the blonde turned toward her companion, though she could make out nothing but the outline of her sleeping bag in the darkness. “I…of course not, Miss Akutagawa.”

There was a rustling, and Gin sat up. Higuchi was able to see her full outline now – long, flowing hair and graceful curves. She was suddenly grateful for the dark.

“Are you worried that my brother will be angry?”

Higuchi shivered. “No – well…yes, I suppose. But that’s not why I’m—” She cut herself off just before she admitted aloud that she was, in fact, very nervous.

Gin was silent for a moment, and then she was crawling over to where Higuchi lay. “I’m not like him, you know. Not in that way. And if he tries to do anything to you, I’ll kill him myself.”

“It’s only natural he’d be concerned for you, Miss Akutagawa,” Higuchi replied quietly, watching Gin’s every move like a hawk. “You’re the only family he has.”

“How many times must I tell you to call me Gin?”

The closeness of Akutagawa’s sister was nerve-wracking enough even before Higuchi suddenly felt gentle presses into her sleeping bag, searching for an opening. “W-What are you doing?”

Gin found purchase then, and a smile could be heard in her voice as she replied, “This.”

Giggles bubbled up from the blonde’s lips before she could hope to quell them. She slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle herself as Gin gently pinched and traced her ribs, her sides, even her back – anywhere she could reach in the darkness.

“M-Mihihihiss Akutagahahahawa,” she sputtered, blushing furiously, trying to roll over or squirm away but impeded by the very sleeping bag she lay in. “Plehehehehehease!”

“Relax, Ichiyo. I’m the one who suggested this camping trip, remember? It’s all on me if Ryuunosuke gets upset about it.”

“Thahahahahahat dohohohohoesn’t hehehehehelp—”

“Why not?”

“Behehehehehecause…!” Higuchi squealed when Gin found her hips, covering her mouth again and blindly reaching for the other woman. “Ehehehehehe! Plehehehehehease stohohohohohop, Miss—”

“Gin,” Gin insisted, squeezing her hips again.

Higuchi barely bit back a shriek as she finally found her companion’s arms in the darkness of the tent and gripped them for dear life, pleading, “Gihihihihihihin!”

At last the tickling stopped, leaving the blonde gasping for breath and smiling up at where she knew the dark-haired woman was, barely able to regain her thoughts before she felt another kind of tickle – this one the puff of breath on her cheek as Gin leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“Besides, when we’re so far from Yokohama, he can’t stop us from having a little fun~”

*

55) Lee Dazai, Ler Chuuya

“Chuuya left me all alooooone,” Dazai lamented pathetically, flopping back onto his beach towel with the back of his hand to his forehead like a damsel in distress. “I’ve been so lonely!”

Chuuya, for his part, merely rolled his eyes as he sat beside him on his own towel, still dripping from his dip in the ocean. “Shut up, mackerel. I left to cool down for like, five minutes, tops.”

“So loooooonely!”

The mafioso scoffed, but he was struggling to hide his smirk at this point. He knew Dazai was more interested in soaking up the sun than actually getting in the water on today’s outing – one of their exceedingly rare shared days off – but he couldn’t help but share the sentiment that he hadn’t wanted to be away for too long. They rarely got to see each other outside of fighting on the job; he didn’t want to waste it not being with him.

Still…

“You’re being so dramatic,” he murmured, reaching down to poke Dazai’s exposed ribs. “Did you seriously miss me that much?”

Dazai squeaked and grinned, eyes shooting up to meet Chuuya’s. “You were gone for so long!”

“Again, five minutes at most.” The redhead didn’t even try to hide his smirk at this point, swinging a leg over to straddle his partner’s hips as he trailed his fingers up and down Dazai’s bare torso. “Chill out, would ya? We’re trying to relax today.”

“I ahahahaham relahahahaxed,” Dazai giggled, unsure what to do with his arms as the mafioso tickled him. It was obvious he didn’t want to fight back, but he didn’t want to put his hands up and surrender so easily, either. Instead he settled for waving them around in an uncoordinated and random pattern that had even Chuuya grinning with amusement.

“Idiot,” he chuckled, quickly daring his hands up to scribble in Dazai’s armpits, immediately making the detective settle on a decision and shoot them down protectively.

“W-WAHAHAIT – NOT THEHEHEHERE!! NOT HEHEHEHEHERE!!” he cried helplessly, laughing louder and trying to cover up his mouth with one hand while pushing at Chuuya with the other. “CHUUYA!!”

The redhead smirked but did as he was asked and moved back to a less ticklish spot. “All right, fine. You don’t want everyone to hear how ticklish you are. I get it.”

“Shuhuhuhuhush,” Dazai shot back halfheartedly, giggling contentedly as Chuuya scribbled over his ribs. “Ehehehehehehehe, Chuhuhuhuhuhuuya!”

“Still feeling lonely?” Chuuya asked.

Dazai’s smile was entirely genuine when he replied, “Nohohohohohoho.”

“Good. Then you won’t mind if I get back in the water?”

“Chuuyaaaaaa!”

Chuuya couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m messing with you, dumbass. You know I won’t stop until you’re good and done.”

Dazai decided to use his flailing arms to cover his blushing face in response.

*

56) Lee Akutagawa, Ler Atsushi

“Tell me you’re not wearing that coat on the beach, Ryu.”

“You know I am.”

Atsushi did know, and despite how out of place he knew it would make his boyfriend look, he understood why he insisted on wearing it. They’d be in a public place, surrounded by potential threats. He needed – wanted – to have it on him.

“All right,” the weretiger conceded, putting his prepacked beach bag by the door and turning to face his partner with a small smile. “But before we go out there and you roast alive inside that thing…can I at least see you shirtless in here?”

Akutagawa paused. He considered for a long few moments, then slowly shrugged out of his black overcoat and draped it gently across the bed. Thin white fingers moved to the top button of his shirt, sliding to each next one slower than the last. By the time he’d reached the last two, he’d stopped entirely, visibly torn.

“Weretiger…”

“It’s okay,” Atsushi said hurriedly, moving to stand in front of him, wrapping his arms around his partner’s waist. “You don’t have to. I’m impressed you got that far, actually.”

Akutagawa seemed to relax, relieved he wasn’t being pressured into taking a step he wasn’t entirely ready for. “One day,” he promised.

“I know,” Atsushi murmured, kissing his cheek. “Don’t rush yourself, all right? Only when you’re ready, Ryu.”

Akutagawa kissed him to show his gratitude, wrapping his arms around Atsushi’s shoulders.

Atsushi kissed him back for a minute, then pulled away and grinned. “You know, you did get most of the shirt unbuttoned.”

“I did.”

“Which means you’ve given me access to most of your upper body.”

“…weretiger?”

Atsushi slipped his fingers into Akutagawa’s open shirt, gently scribbling along his upper ribs, fully prepared for the struggling that would follow. He giggled along with his boyfriend as they collapsed onto the bed together, Atsushi on top, tickling easily and ruthlessly as Aku grunted and whimpered and essentially did everything in his power not to laugh.

“Come on, Ryu,” Atsushi teased softly, grasping his wrists and pushing them above his head when he tried to fight back, his free hand shifting into a half-tiger form with long, unbearably ticklish claws. He raked them gently along his boyfriend’s skin, but it was enough to make Akutagawa very nearly scream as he finally dissolved into raspy laughter.

“Gahahahahahahahaha! Stohohohohohohohop, weretihihihihihiger!” he cried, face lit up in a bright smile despite himself. He struggled uselessly, though it was clear he wasn’t uncomfortable with the situation. Just caught off-guard. “I hahahahahahahahate you!”

“I just want to see you smile,” Atsushi cooed, purposely digging his claws in a little rougher, searching for the ultimate weak spots along the backs of Akutagawa’s ribs, enjoying how his struggling turned more frantic, his laughter more panicked.

“Nohohohohoho, no! Dohohohohon’t – not thahahahahahat spot, plehehehehehehease, weretiger!” Akutagawa begged, eyes alight with something akin to playfulness. Then his partner found the sweet spot, and he arched his back and screeched, “NOHOHOHOHOHO!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUHUHUHUHUHUCK, STOHOHOHOHOHOHOP IT!!”

Atsushi smiled lovingly down at him as he writhed and cackled. “But I’m not going to get to do this all day. I want to get my fill now, Ryuunosuke~” He whispered the last word directly in his boyfriend’s ear, knowing it would make him go crazy.

Sure enough, Akutagawa howled with mirth, kicking uselessly and trying to squirm out of Atsushi’s grip, his adorable dimples finally making their appearance. “PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE, ATSUSHI!! ANYWHEHEHEHEHEHEHERE BUT THEHEHEHEHEHEHERE!!”

Atsushi eventually moved on to tickle other spots, but not before he leaned down to soak up all of Akutagawa’s rare, crazed laughter with a passionate kiss.

*

57) Lee Tachihara, Ler Chuuya

Chuuya plopped down with the large bowl of popcorn unceremoniously, stuffing a handful into his mouth as he mumbled, “All right, what crap are we watching today?”

Tachihara gave him a look. “Don’t get too excited, now.”

“Tch, what? You always pick bad movies. I’m just bracing myself.”

“Because your movies are so much better.”

“Excuse me for preferring something other than blood and gore horror!”

“That’s literally your life; how can you be so squeamish?”

“It’s because it’s my life that I want something else, asshole!”

Chuuya huffed to himself, but inwardly he couldn’t help but feel giddy at the exchange. He didn’t really have what he’d consider friends in his life; even calling Tachihara anything other than a coworker was pushing it, really, but it was the closest thing he had to any kind of friendly relationship besides that stupid Dazai, and sometimes he just wanted to hang out with the other redhead.

Even if most of their conversations did go like this.

“Fine, what do you want to watch, boss?” Tachihara groaned, reaching for a handful of popcorn.

“Why would I tell you? You always laugh at my choices.”

“Because they’re lame romcoms.”

“Not all of them!” Chuuya protested.

Tachihara smirked. “Well, I guess there was that one time you wanted to try a darker romance and you got more than you bargained for—”

“You shut your mouth!” Chuuya snapped, throwing a handful of popcorn at the other man, who flinched and laughed. Annoyed – but still feeling oddly playful – the mafioso set the bowl aside and lunged for Tachihara, tackling him onto the cushions of the couch and finding purchase in his ribs. “Fine, you want to laugh? I’ll give you something to laugh about!”

“Ah! Nohohohoho, wahahahahait – no fahahahahahair! Don’t tihihihihihihickle me!” Tachihara cackled despite himself, trying to curl up but failing miserably. He squirmed and laughed under Chuuya’s surprisingly gentle onslaught, trying to push him away. “You ahahahahahass! We can wahahahahahatch whatever, just lehehehehehemme go!”

“Maybe I wanna teach you a little respect for your superiors first, Band-Aid.”

“Oh, sohohohohoho orihihihihiginal! Nihihihihice insult – gah, shihihihihihit!” Tachihara arched his back with a shriek when Chuuya dove a hand into his armpit. “Fine, okahahahahay, you win! I respehehehehehehect you! Fuhuhuhuhucker, let me gohohohohoho!”

Chuuya scoffed. “Sounds like you respect me.” But he relented anyway, settling back into his original position and picking up the bowl of popcorn.

Tachihara groaned as he sat up, then swiped the bowl from his boss and stuffed another handful of buttery kernels into his mouth. “I do, you know. Respect you.”

Chuuya yanked the bowl back. “Shut up and pick one of your lame horror flicks, Tachi.”

The other redhead smirked to himself as he grabbed the remote and began to scroll through the options. Being friends with Chuuya was…interesting. But it certainly was never boring, and he liked it that way.

*

58) Lee Atsushi, Ler Dazai

“I would have to tell you,” Dazai murmured in a low, teasing voice in time with the man on the TV screen, “you have bewitched me body and soul—”

“Dazai!” Atsushi squealed, covering up his blushing face as his partner slid an arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

“And I love…I love…I love you~”

Atsushi burst into giggles. “Shut up!”

“I never wish to be parted from you from this day on,” Dazai teased, whispering into his ear directly now.

“Stoooooop,” Atsushi whined, shoving at his chest and turning his face away, red as a strawberry. He was already flustered enough as it was, but then the brunette leaned into kiss his neck, and he scrunched up into another round of giggles. “Dahahazai!”

The detective chuckled softly, the arm around his waist sliding up to squeeze his side and make him jump in his seat, barely aware of the couple onscreen anymore.

“Isn’t it just so romantic, Atsushi?” he sighed dreamily, kissing his neck and ears and softly squeezing up and down his side and hip. “I do love that word choice. Bewitched. Makes it all sound so naughty.”

Atsushi didn’t even know what to do with himself anymore other than giggle and squirm, but Dazai’s arms around him kept him from even doing the latter half of that. He felt like he would combust, his face was so hot.

“Dahahahahahazai,” he whined. “Plehehehehehehease!”

“Hmm?” The detective hummed innocently, grinning against his jaw as he placed a kiss there. “Don’t you like my affection, dearest?”

Atsushi did – he liked it quite a lot, really – but he always felt so undeserving of it. So when the brunette was showering him with love like this, he didn’t know what to do other than protest and blush wildly. Not that the second one of those was in his control.

“Maybe you’d like it more if there were more tickles?” Dazai teased, bringing his other hand into the mix now, scribbling and squeezing along both of his sides and even up to his ribs now, and Atsushi let out a shriek as he finally toppled over, his partner right behind him, trapping him and tickling him consistently but gently, knowing he wasn’t entirely used to the sensation yet.

“Nohohohohoooo! Dazai, plehehehehehehease!” Atsushi whined, the giggles being pulled out of him making him feel loads lighter despite his reservations.

Dazai grinned down at him. “Please what? You haven’t specified, my love~”

“Dahahahahahazai!”

“Well…if you won’t tell me what you want, I can only assume you mean please keep going, right, dearest?” The brunette leaned down to kiss his cheeks and nose and lips in rapid succession, never letting up on his tickling onslaught. “Anything for you, my adorable Atsushi~”

*

59) Lee Fyodor, Ler Dazai

“Samyy dorogoy,” Fyodor murmured, seemingly unbothered despite his position. “I know you’re not seriously about to do what I think you are.”

Dazai smirked. “Do you know? Or are you just trying not to beg me?”

“We’re supposed to be stargazing.”

“You are stargazing.”

“Am I?”

“Of course.” Dazai beamed. “What stars could be prettier than the ones in my eyes?”

Fyodor snorted, but the tiniest quirk of his lips was everything to the detective.

Their night had started innocently enough. They’d been taking in the constellations together, Fyodor’s head in Dazai’s lap in a rare gesture of intimacy the Russian almost never allowed. Dazai, for his part, had been murmuring sweet nothings and kissing his fingers and just generally getting him so relaxed that he wouldn’t be prepared for the fast one he inevitably intended to pull.

“The fast one” being forcing Fyodor’s arms above his head and sitting on them so he was trapped in a precarious position, his weakest spots wide open.

“Besides,” the detective said now, beginning his assault without any pomp or circumstance whatsoever. “It’s not like a little tickling is going to kill you or anything~”

Fyodor clamped his lips shut, but it was a useless endeavor and he knew it. Within moments he was giggling helplessly, and within a minute he was cackling, arching his back and kicking his legs in a frantic effort to escape his partner’s devious clutches.

Dazai dug into his armpits with an unfair amount of vigor, relishing the screeches and loud laughter he got for his efforts.

“There now, see? Doesn’t it feel good to laugh, my love?”

“DAHAHAHAHAHAZAI!!” Fyodor nearly screamed, unable to help the cascades of hysterical laughter that flew out of him at the detective’s precise touch. “STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP IT!! POZHAHAHAHAHAHALUSTAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

Watching his conniving, brilliant partner lost in the throes of his own mirth like this was heaven on Earth to Dazai, and so he couldn’t quite bring himself to let up so soon. “Aww, but I only just got started, bunny~ I want to hear you beg me, remember?”

Fyodor cursed his name and laughed until he was nearly breathless, writhing and pleading for mercy all the way.

*

60) Switches Shin Soukoku

There were a lot of things about Akutagawa that Atsushi found cute. His scowl, his smirks, the way he’d sometimes tuck a strand of hair behind his ear only for the wind to immediately blow it back into his face, his dimples – the list went on, truly.

But without a doubt, one of the most adorable things about him was the way he desperately fought to hold in his mirth when Atsushi was tickling him.

He was doing it now – laying on the grass with the weretiger on top of him, one of his hands clamped across his mouth to muffle himself, the other gripping his partner’s shoulder and trying to push him away, his face turning darker red with each passing second.

“Give it up,” Atsushi teased in a low purr that he knew would drive his partner crazy. “You know you can’t hold out forever, Ryu~”

To prove his point, he dragged his fingers down his partner’s bony ribs in a raking motion that made him arch his back and positively cackle from behind his hand.

With a triumphant smirk, Atsushi used his tiger’s strength to rip said hand from his lips and repeat the raking motion, forcing Akutagawa to screech and laugh openly, the raspiness of it making the weretiger’s heart soar.

“Cheheheheheheheater!” Aku accused, both hands trying to push him away now, his mirth apparent and uncontrollable. “We’re in the ohohohohohohopen – Ahahahahahahatsushi!”

“Whaaaaat? We chose a private part of the park on purpose, remember?” Atsushi giggled, digging his thumb into the flesh just below Akutagawa’s ribs.

The mafioso threw his head back and keened, tapping out within seconds. “FUHUHUHUCKING STAHAHAHAHAHAP ALREHEHEHEHEHEADY!!”

With a mock pout, Atsushi did as he was asked and let him breathe, running his hand up and down his thigh instead. “Fiiiiine. But no one saw, you know. I wouldn’t tickle you in public unless I knew we were alone.”

Akutagawa paused, taking an extra second to catch his breath before asking, “Are you sure we’re alone?”

Atsushi brushed his bangs from his eyes. “Of course, Ryu.”

Suddenly the weretiger felt the ground against his back as his partner flipped the script and took up a position on top, grinning downright wickedly as he forced his hand under Atsushi’s shirt to wiggle a finger directly into his belly button.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA WHAHAHAHAHAT?! NO FAHAHAHAHAHAHAIR!!” Atsushi screamed, laughter bursting out of him before he could take a big enough breath to accommodate for it. He writhed on the ground and tried to squirm away, but Akutagawa’s knees were pressed firmly against his hips, keeping him in place as he tickled. “EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE RYUUUUU!!”

*

172) Lee Deku, Ler Bakugou

When Bakugou was in the mood to destroy someone, he could be a real terror.

That’s why Deku loved being tickled by him so much, even if it always made him desperate for even a moment’s respite.

“Not so cocky now, are you, nerd?” Bakugou growled, fingers deep in Deku’s ribs, digging and drilling with everything he had and making the greenette scream.

“I’M SOHOHOHOHOHOHORRY!!” Deku laughed helplessly, wishing for all the world that he could bring his arms down to protect himself. But once again – as was custom now – his blonde friend had tied his arms above him to the bed so he wasn’t going anywhere. “PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE KACCHAHAHAHAHAHAHAN!!”

“Take back what you said about me, and I might think about letting you go,” Bakugou demanded, sliding one hand down to ghost his fingers along Deku’s hipline. “Or else…”

Deku shrieked in a ticklish panic. “OKAHAHAHAHAY, OKAY!! I TAHAHAHAHAHAKE IT BAHAHAHAHACK!!”

Bakugou let up slightly, switching to light scribbling along his rival’s belly, letting him gasp for breath and giggle out leftovers. “So I’m not too reckless when I’m blowing those extras sky high?”

“I…” Deku whimpered, squirming, knowing he had to be really careful lest he get thrown right back into the fire again. “I mean…y-you are, but…but I won’t say it out loud again!”

“That’s not good enough, nerd.” The blonde dug a single thumb into one of his hips in warning. Deku squeaked and arched his back.

“I cahahan’t lie! Y-You neeheheed to work on your c-controhohohol so you don’t accidentally huhuhuhurt one of us!”

Bakugou’s eyes darkened, but his lips tugged upward in a dangerous smirk. “Oho, telling me how to fight now, eh?”

“Nononono—!”

“Fine, then.” The blonde grasped his hips and growled playfully, “Begging for ‘Kacchan’ to stop won’t do you any good now, Deku. Now you beg Dynamight!”

It didn’t take very long after that for Deku to submit and plead for mercy like he never had before. If he thought Bakugou was a terror, Dynamight was a monster.

*

173) Lee Deku, Ler Bakugou

“My hands are cold,” Bakugou said, sounding surprised.

Deku glanced at him, blinked, and frowned. “They are?” His friend’s hands never got cold; it was one of the advantages of his explosive quirk. Sure, in winter it was harder for him to work up enough of a sweat to really be at his most destructive, but the mere fact that he could create tiny explosions in the palms of his hands meant they never got cold. It seemed impossible.

“Yeah,” the blonde said now, and it looked like he was trying to call up a few firecrackers to alleviate his symptoms. After a few moments, he cursed and grumbled, “Damn winter. My hands are too dry.”

“Interesting,” Deku said, already reaching for his notebook and pen.

“You are not seriously about to take notes on me right in front of my face,” Bakugou snapped.

Deku froze, sitting back on the couch cushions slowly. “N-No, of course not.”

“If you want to make yourself useful, figure out a way for me to warm up my hands. They’re freezing!”

“Well…” Deku glanced around. “We probably still have some hand warmers around here somewhere. If not we could warm up a water bottle—”

Suddenly Bakugou was lunging for him, making Deku screech in surprise and throw his arms up defensively, reflexively.

“W-What are you doing, Kacchan?!”

“I know how to warm my hands up,” Bakugou growled, but the wicked smirk on his lips told Deku everything he needed to know in the seconds before he was suddenly squealing with laughter, arms clamped to his sides and legs kicking uselessly.

“KAHAHAHAHAHACCHAN!!” he cried, trying and failing to push his friend away. “YOUR HAHAHAHAHANDS ARE COLD!! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

Bakugou snorted. “They are? Really? Who would have thought, nerd? Not like I’ve been sitting here telling you how cold they are.” The blonde wiggled his fingers even deeper into the greenette’s armpits, making the smaller boy toss his head back and shriek gleefully. “Besides, I don’t think you mind helping out, do you, ticklish little Deku?”

Deku let out a whine and tried rolling away, but Bakugou’s knee was there to keep him from escaping off the side of the couch. “KAHAHAHAHAHACCHAN!!”

“Where do you think you’re going, huh?” the blonde teased, wiggling mercilessly into his friend’s armpits. “I can feel my hands warming up already. Just deal with it for another couple of minutes, nerd. You can do that, right?”

All Deku could do in reply was laugh.

*

174) Lee Bakugou, Ler Deku

Deku couldn’t fathom what he was looking at on the TV screen. Just moments ago he’d been whooping Bakugou in a game of Mario Kart – on Rainbow Road, no less! – and the next, the blonde was cruising over the finish line an entire lap ahead of him.

At first the grenette was willing to let it go – maybe he’d gotten so caught up in the gaming that he’d missed his friend passing him? – but then Bakugou laughed and pumped his fist in the air proudly and that was it. He had to know what had happened.

“How did you get ahead of me?” Deku asked, casually crossing the finish line in third place and looking at his atomic friend.

“I’m just that good, nerd, obviously!”

“But…you’ve been losing all day—”

“Shut up! No I haven’t! I’ve been going easy on your ass to make you feel better, but now I’m bringing out the big guns. No more Mr. Nice Guy!”

Deku frowned, glancing at the screen. Bakugou was so far ahead of him now as the post-track scene played, waiting for them to move on to the awards ceremony. The greenette swore Bakugou had been leagues behind him just a minute before, but there was no other way to explain the sudden turnaround unless…

“Kacchan…did you cheat?”

Bakugou nearly threw his controller at him. “Of course not, you damn nerd! I just beat you! What, gonna be a sore loser now?”

“But it doesn’t make sense!” Deku insisted. “You were behind me, I know you were—”

“So cry me a river! Rainbow Road is my specialty!”

Deku didn’t believe him for a second. He frowned, considering how to go about his next approach. “Kacchan.” When the blonde finally looked at him directly, the smaller boy raised his hands like claws and said, “Tell me the truth.”

Bakugou was out of his seat and out the door into the cold so fast Deku could hardly believe his eyes. Still, he chased after the blonde – thank goodness OFA was faster than his friend’s explosions! – and quickly used Blackwhip to stop him in his tracks.

“Let me go, you stupid nerd! I didn’t cheat – wait!”

Deku quickly straddled him and smirked, knowing full well that his friend was lying and determined to prove it. “Wait for what, Kacchan?”

“Don’t – don’t try anything, damn Deku!”

But Deku just shrugged and, using Blackwhip to keep the blonde’s arms out of his way, started tickling his ribs and underarms without any further preamble.

“GAHAHAHAHAHA DEHEHEHEHEHEKU NOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!” Bakugou screamed with laughter, thrashing in the snow helplessly, tiny sparks lighting up his palms. “FUHUHUHUCK IT’S COHOHOHOHOLD!! STAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

“You’re the one who ran out here!” Deku laughed, easily and mercilessly keeping up with his friend’s squirming and booming laughter. “It’s your own fault if you get snow down your pants. Now…how exactly did you cheat back there, huh? Gonna tell me?”

Bakugou did eventually admit to his wrongdoing – but only after another several minutes of hysterical cackles and complaining about the snow.

*

175) Lee Kaminari, Ler Kirishima

“Wow. That’s…a lot of lights,” Denki murmured as he began to pull the long string of colored lights out of the box.

Kirishima – who was busy fussing with a wreath for the door – turned and grinned at him. “Go big or go home! Hey, if any of the lights aren’t working, do you think your quirk can get them to come back on?”

“I’m pretty sure I’d blow them all up if I tried that.”

“You never know!”

“Let’s just see if they’ll untangle first.”

“It’s always a hassle, isn’t it? Glad you’re the one doing it.”

“Thanks.”

The two of them had decided it was way past time for the common area of their dorms to be decorated for the holidays, so with Aizawa’s permission, they’d raided the storage closet and found the wreaths, lights, knickknacks, and of course the tree. They knew Sero and Mina would be down later to help (and probably Bakugou, though he’d never openly admit to wanting to decorate) once they were finished with a different task.

“Ah!” Denki exclaimed suddenly. “Kiri, help!”

Kirishima turned hurriedly. “What, what?!”

“The lights!” The blonde held up his hands, which had somehow gotten so wrapped up in the green string connecting the lights that he couldn’t get out of it. “I’m stuck!”

The redhead laughed, hopping down from the stepstool he’d been on to come and help. “This takes ‘getting tangled in the lights’ to a whole new level, bro.”

“Just get me out,” Denki whined, holding out his hands for Kirishima to unwrap like a present.

Kirishima inspected the mess and moved to help…then stopped. He looked at Denki. He smirked.

“No,” Denki pleaded, grinning already. “No, don’t even think about – Kihihihihihiri!” He squealed with giggles as Kirishima suddenly attacked his sides and ribs while he was helpless to stop him. All he could do was wiggle and squirm, trying to turn and run but only pulled back against his friend’s chest while he tickled crazily all over his torso.

“Come on, where’s that smile? It’s Christmas! Cheer up!”

“I ahahahahaham smihihihihihiling!” Denki laughed, wriggling desperately. “Plehehehehease, stohohohohohop!”

“All right, all right,” Kirishima relented, chuckling himself as he turned his friend back around to face him and got to work untangling him for real. “Maybe I should help with the lights. Doing it solo doesn’t seem like it’s a good idea.”

“Just so you know, if you get tangled in them, I’m getting revenge,” Denki warned with a grin.

Kiri grinned right back.

*

176) Switches Todoroki and Natsuo

“Time for winter uniforms already, huh?” Natsuo remarked as he plopped on the couch next to his younger brother, bowl of popcorn in hand. They were about to watch a movie now that Fuyumi had gone out for a couple of hours; it was rare for the two of them to have any time alone, and they didn’t really know how to interact beyond pleasantries and movies or gaming.

They were working on it. The whole family was.

Todoroki nodded and reached for a handful from the bowl. “Yeah. Not much different from my summer uniform, really.”

“You wear long sleeves even in the summer, right? Even though half your quirk tends to burn it to ashes?”

Todoroki shrugged a little sheepishly, now reaching for the remote that lay between them. “I guess so.”

“What is it? You just don’t want the class to see how toned you’ve gotten?” Natsuo teased, aiming a quick jab for his brother’s ribs that made him squeak and dart his arm back to his side reflexively.

“I don’t care about that,” Todoroki managed through a timid smile. “But Bakugou kind of handles that showing off thing for me, so…”

“So you don’t want to be too extra?” Natsuso poked him again.

“That – that’s exahahactly how he’d prhrahahase it – Nat, plehehease!” Todoroki gradually broke down into a fit of giggles, the popcorn in his hand spilling to his lap and the floor as he squirmed with every poke and pinch to his ribs.

Natsuo chuckled and put the bowl aside entirely, reaching both hands for the younger boy’s torso. “How are things going with him, by the way? Any progress? Have you confessed yet? Come on, I wanna know all about my little brother’s love life!”

“Nahahahahahat, plehehehehehehease!”

“Please what?”

Instead of falling into the trap of asking for more tickles or begging him to stop entirely, Todoroki darted his hands for Natsuo’s knees and squeezed.

“Ah! No fahahahahahair!” his brother squealed, instantly going into defensive mode, giggling and pushing Todoroki’s hands away. “Your knehehehehehees aren’t tihihihicklish – you dohohohohon’t know what it’s lihihihihihike!”

Todoroki scoffed, but he was grinning. “Like I’m not more than ticklish enough everywhere else to make up for it? Come on, Nat – you started it. Show me what you’ve got!”

*

177) Lee Kirishima, Lers Deku and Bakusquad

“Are you sure you’re comfortable, Kirishima?” Deku asked, glancing at his friend, whose only body parts he could see were his head and his feet.

The redhead grinned up at him. “Oh, yeah! It’s actually kind of cozy.”

“Just making sure,” the smaller boy replied. He turned his attention back to where Bakugou, Mina, Sero, and Kaminari were roughhousing near the shoreline, trying to wrestle each other into the oncoming waves or something of that nature. Under other circumstances Deku would worry that Kiri wasn’t with them, but their mutual friend had asked to be buried in the sand and left to rest for a while, so that’s what had happened.

“Uh-oh, you’ve got your thinking face on,” Kiri teased, drawing his classmate’s attention back to him. "What’s up, Midoriya?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about your quirk,” Deku admitted sheepishly, grinning a little. “Like, if a villain attacked right now, would you be able to get out on your own? Would you be stuck there until someone got you out? That kind of thing.”

“Hmm,” Kiri mused, closing his eyes to soak up the sun for a few moments before saying, “Let’s try it.”

Deku blinked. “What?”

Kirishima grunted, and it took the greenette a moment to register that he was trying to break free of his sandy grave. He watched for several seconds as the redhead huffed and puffed and managed to free just a bit more of his neck and ankles, but that was it.

“Well, I guess they did a good job,” Kiri chuckled. “I’m not going anywhere, even with my hardening quirk activated.”

“Interesting,” Deku hummed, filing the information away for later. “But maybe you need better motivation?”

“Like what?”

With a smile, Deku snaked a hand down to Kirishima’s bare foot and scribbled against it gently.

“Ah! Midohohoriya!” Kiri giggled, eyes going wide for a split second before squeezing shut. “No fahahahair! I can’t defend mysehehehelf!”

“Are you really stuck?” Deku asked, scooting down to get better access to both of his friend’s feet now, scribbling freely along them with very little resistance due to his friend’s position. “You’re hardly moving at all; are you actually trying to get out?”

“Of cohohohohourse I ahahahaham!” Kiri whined, snickering helplessly, the only free parts of his body shaking and wiggling slightly from the sensations. “Midohohohoriya! W-Wahahahait, the ohohohohothers—!”

“Ooh, why didn’t I think of that?” Mina squealed as she hurried over to them, the rest of the gang right behind her, all with mischievous smiles on their faces. “He’s in prime position for some tickle torture!”

Kirishima shrieked, but the flash of excitement in his eyes wasn’t lost on anyone. “N-Now hold on a second! I didn’t ask for this – Bakugou, I swear to gohohohohohod! Ahahahahahaha, nooooo!”

But Bakugou was just smirking knowingly, and soon all five of them were taking turns tickling the trapped redhead. This day at the beach sure had taken a turn, but no one was complaining about it.

*

178) Lee Sero, Ler Todoroki

“That’s certainly an innovative use of your quirk,” Todoroki commented with a grin as he watched Sero used his arm’s tape to wrap around the back of the kite, whose string had long since gone missing.

“It’s smart, right?” Sero replied with a smile of his own. “Who needs a new kite when I can just repurpose my old one with my own creativity?”

Todoroki chuckled, watching as his boyfriend finished wrapping up the kite and then took off running, trying to get it to catch air. After a couple of failed attempts he finally managed it, and Todoroki casually strolled over to where he stood now, watching the kite soar the whole way.

Sero grinned at him. “Pretty cool, yeah?”

“Definitely.”

“I haven’t flown a kite in years. Definitely not since before junior high.” Sero watched it dart side to side with the wind. “It’s kind of silly, but…I missed it.”

Todoroki smiled and moved to stand behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. “You’re cute.”

“Am not,” Sero retorted.

“Of course you are.” Todoroki observed that his partner’s arms were in a slightly raised position to keep the kite flying, and he smirked. “You’re also wide open, you know.”

“Hmm? H-Hey!” Sero gasped and trembled at the maddeningly light touch of Todoroki’s fingers grazing his sides and waistline, just enough for it to tickle but not enough for it to be bad – yet. “W-What are you doing? You know I’m t-tihihihicklish!”

Todoroki kept up his slow, light pace with a smile, barely grazing his fingernails along his boyfriend’s body, curious how long he’d hold out. “I know. And you know I like tickling people. Especially people who are cute when they’re flying a kite.”

“Thahahat’s stupidly specific, Sh-Shohohohoto,” Sero snickered lightly, shivering and grinning and trying to keep his composure. “You tihihihickle every cute person flying a kihihihihite?”

“Mmm…nah. Just you.” Todoroki couldn’t help but pinch his sides, making him squeak and giggle in earnest, the tape from his arms wavering as Sero brought them down protectively.

“Shohohohoto!”

“All right, I’ll stop,” the peppermint boy said, going back to just snuggling his partner instead. “Couldn’t help myself.”

Sero relaxed and glanced back up at the kite, a lingering smile on his face. He thought it was adorable the way his boyfriend loved making others laugh. “You’re pretty cute, too.”

Todoroki just hummed and hugged him closer, contentedly enjoying the afternoon with his boyfriend.

*

179) Lee Todoroki, Lers Natsuo and Fuyumi

“W-Wahahahahahahait – plehehehehehehease, guys!”

Natsuso smirked playfully down at his little brother who – thanks to his and Fuyumi’s efforts – was currently half-curled in on himself, giggling crazily as they scribbled and scratched across his torso and waist.

“Wait for what? Huh?” he teased, deftly catching Todoroki’s wrist when it came down protectively, gently wiggling into his underarm. “Weren’t you practically begging us to tickle you just a minute ago?”

Even lit by only a flashlight, Todoroki’s face clearly turned pink at the insinuation. “I dihihihihid nohohohohohohot!”

“Hmm…Fuyumi, wouldn’t you say that Shoto acting all cute and leaving himself wide open was invitation enough for us to play around a little bit?”

“I believe it was,” their sister replied, giggling along with Todoroki as she pinched his sides. “After all, if he kept his arms above his head and kept looking at us like that, how could we not want to tickle him?”

Todoroki whined, squirming to the side when his sister tickled his ribs, then trying to pull his arm down when his brother scribbled in his armpit. He blushed furiously, but couldn’t bring himself to protest any of this. He hadn’t exactly been trying to tempt them into tickling him by laying in the grass with his arms behind his head, but…he hadn’t exactly not been trying to, either.

“Ehehehehehehehe plehehehehehehehease!” he begged, heart racing in anticipation when both of his older siblings suddenly grabbed an arm and lay it flat on the ground so he was almost in a T pose. They lay gently on top of his limbs, pinning him, and shot him mischievous smiles. Todoroki gasped, giggling helplessly even though they weren’t touching him yet. “Ah! W-Wahahahait, wait!”

“For what, Shoto?” Fuyumi cooed, dragging a single fingertip down the short length of his underarm, making him jerk and cackle briefly. “Would it really help you if we waited?”

“Or would you rather just get on with it, little bro?” Natsuo asked, repeating the gesture on his other side.

Todoroki shivered, glancing at each of them in turn, his giddiness nearly overwhelming. He lifted his gaze to the stars they’d all been observing and chatting about together beforehand, then squeezed his eyes shut and murmured, “Just do it already.”

Needing no further invitation, Natsuo and Fuyumi each began to scribble into his armpits with purpose, and Todoroki pressed his lips together defiantly for all of three seconds before he couldn’t help himself and the first waves of laughter spilled out, followed by useless squirming and pleading.

“Nohohohohohohohoooo! Plehehehehehehehehease, it’s so bahahahahahahahahad!”

His siblings merely exchanged grins.

“And yet, you’re not asking us to stop~” Natsuo teased.

“So we’ll just have to keep going, little brother~” Fuyumi added.

Todoroki lay giggling and laughing beneath the stars for a while after that, but he hadn’t felt so content and loved in a long time. It was worth it.

*

180) Lee Bakugou, Ler Todoroki

Todoroki felt incredibly content. How could he not? He was lying under the warm spring sun with his beautiful, hotheaded boyfriend, snuggled up on his chest with the other boy’s arm wrapped around his waist. It was so calming and comforting. He loved moments like this, even more because they were so rare. While the picnic had been his idea, the cuddling had been Bakugou’s, and he felt he could die happy in this moment and have no regrets.

“Should have had waffles,” the blonde murmured.

Todoroki considered a moment, then decided he didn’t know what he meant and said, “Huh?”’

“We’re being such saps right now. We could make our own syrup and have waffles.”

The half-and-half hero snorted. “Look at you, showing off your knowledge.”

“Do you not know that syrup comes from certain trees?”

“Hush.” Todoroki nuzzled his boyfriend’s chest and pinched his ribs. “Let me enjoy this without your smart mouth ruining it.”

“Oi, don’t call me a smart mouth—hey!” Bakugou shot his free arm down protectively when Todoroki began pinching him with more purpose. “Knohohock it off!”

“I told you to hush. You’re ruining the moment.” Todoroki remain stubbornly where he was, effectively trapping at least one of Bakugou’s arms as he pinched up and down his ribs, making the blonde jerk and giggle despite himself. The peppermint boy smiled at the sound.

“Asshohohohole! I’ll ruhuhuin the moment more if you keheheheheep tickling me!”

Without another word, Todoroki strategically darted to scribble into the side of Bakugou he was laying on, making it so that he couldn’t stop him with either of his arms anymore thanks to their positioning. The snort the blonde let out made his heart leap, and he grinned as his partner squirmed and tried to hold back his giggles.

“Okay, okahahahahay, I’ll shuhuhuhut up about sahahahahap!” Bakugou whined after a few moments, tapping Todoroki’s shoulder in a gesture of submission. “Shohohohohohoto!”

Todoroki slowed to a stop, then wrapped his arm around his partner’s middle and hugged him closer, determined to snuggle him even more now. “You’re so warm.”

Bakugou scoffed. “Again with the sap—”

This time when Todoroki struck, it was with sudden, playful determination. He swung a leg over to trap the blonde where he was and dove his hand into his boyfriend’s armpit, making him screech and toss his head back as laughter spilled out of him beyond his control.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA NOHOHOHOHOHOHO!! OKAY I’LL STOHOHOHOHOHOP I PROHOHOHOHOHOMISE!! SHOTO!!” Bakugou cried, struggling to no avail. He cackled as his partner found the sweet spot between his armpit and ribs, making his whole body spasm with ticklishness, a shriek flying past his lips. “FUHUHUHUHUHUCK!! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

With a satisfied smirk, Todoroki flopped down on top of him and curled up again, nuzzling him even more now. “That’s more like it.”

“Tch. All right, all right. Come here, snuggles.” The blonde wrapped both arms and legs around him in a cuddly trap that made the other boy visibly melt. Bakugou smiled softly at him. “You’re cute, you know? Something so simple makes you so happy.”

Todoroki hummed contentedly, smiling as well. He didn’t say anything in response; he merely soaked up the moment while it lasted. Bakugou cuddling him was a rarity he didn’t want to miss a single second of.

*

22) Lee Tajima, Ler Hanai

Hanai smacked Tajima’s hand away from the bowl. “Hey! Wait until we’re actually starting, genius.”

Tajima rubbed his hand, looking offended. “Dude, the bowl’s full of candy. It’s not like we’ll run out.”

“We have to wait for everyone to get here. At least wait for Coach.”

“You’re just saying that because she’ll get after me even worse than you do!”

“Yeah, well, sometimes you need it, Tajima.”

Hanai sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sometimes the overenergetic cleanup hitter was just too much. They were at their combined end-of-season/Halloween party, each in costume and waiting for the last few teammates to arrive. About half of them were already here, but it wasn’t saying much when there were ten boys on the team, plus one equipment manager and their two coaches.

Tajima tried to reach for the bowl a second time.

Hanai smacked him away from it again. “I’m serious! Not until Coach gets here at least!”

“You’re no fun,” Tajima grumbled, sticking his tongue out at him. “It’s just one candy bar. And they’re not even full sized. Jeez.”

“Are you bored? Is that the problem?”

“Well, yeah! Everyone is taking their sweet time showing up and I’m supposed to just stand in front of this candy bowl and not eat anything?”

“Yes!” The team captain was growing more irritated by the moment, but thank goodness the team had ingrained a stress-relief strategy into their daily lives, because within seconds Hanai remembered and had grabbed Tajima by the ribs. “Here, maybe this will cure your boredom!”

“Hehehehey! Wahahahahait!” Tajima squeaked, giggling as his taller friend wrapped him in a bear hug, fingers dancing along his ribcage. “Ehehehahahahaha! Nahahahahaha! No fahahahahahair!”

“I warned you, and you didn’t listen.” Hanai smirked, holding him even tighter. “You’re the one who wanted a trick or treat so bad. Well, here’s your treat!”

“Mohohohore like a trihihihihihihick!” Tajima retorted, still giggling crazily. “Fihihihihine, fine, I’ll wahahahahahait! Just stohohohohohop!”

Hanai smirked, feeling a tiny rush of superiority for enough of a second to want to keep going. It was so rare that he was able to outdo Tajima in anything; now that the season was over, he had to come out on top somehow. “Nah, I still think we should wait until Coach shows up.”

*

23) Lee Abe, Lers Tajima and Mihashi

“Why are you dressed like that?” Mihashi asked, surprising Abe with the boldness and straightforwardness of the question.

The catcher looked at him sideways. “Because it’s a costume party? And this is a costume?”

“I-I know that, but I mean…” Mihashi gestured at him nervously. “Like…that.”

Abe had decided to go simple, dressing in a toga with a gold circlet on his head that his mom had made him. He’d almost left it out, but it really did complete the look, so he decided to go with it. Mihashi was – predictably – dressed as a professional baseball player.

“It’s a toga. You know, from ancient Rome? Haven’t you paid attention in history class?” Abe asked, growing a little irritated. He glanced around the room at their other teammates, quickly taking in their outfits. Sure, he stood out a little, but only because he was the only one who didn’t go all-out.

“It’s…k-kind of…brave to wear that here, isn’t it?” Mihashi stammered.

“Why?” Abe snapped, berating himself when his friend flinched at his tone. “Sorry. I’m just confused. Why is it weird?”

“N-Not weird…” Mihashi clenched and unclenched his fists. “Brave.”

All at once, Abe understood what he meant. He looked first at his costume, at the way it left half of his chest bare. Then he looked at the pitcher, then their friends around the room. “Well, now that you mention it…but I doubt we’ll be doing much of that tonight. That was just to boost our performance during the season, and the season is over now.”

Mihashi shifted on his feet, nodding a little.

Before Abe could open his mouth to say anything more, he felt cold hands squeeze his ribs from behind, making him yell before he could stop himself.

“Abe! Why are you showing off like that? You’re just begging for someone to come tickle you!” Tajima laughed, wiggling his fingers teasingly.

Abe instinctively wrapped his arms around his chest, blushing furiously at the embarrassing noise he’d just let out. “I’m not showing off! I just didn’t want to do anything crazy for this party, that’s all.”

Tajima glanced at Mihashi and winked. “You’re thinking it too, right, Mihashi?”

Abe saw the way his pitcher’s eyes lit up and stared incredulously. “What? You traitor!”

“Get him!” the cleanup hitter yelled, and instantly both he and Mihashi were on Abe, digging into his sides and waist, drawing out surprised giggles and curses from their friend.

“Stahahahahahap! The seheheheason is over! You guhuhuhuhuys!”

“So? Doesn’t mean we have to stop having tickle fights,” Tajima laughed.

Mihashi drilled his thumb into Abe’s waistline just above his hips almost on instinct, and the usually grumpy catcher threw his head back and laughed so hard the gold circlet flew from his hair onto the floor.

“GAHAHAHAHAHA!! STAHAHAHAHAP IT!! YOU BOHOHOHOHOTH SUHUHUCK!!” Abe shrieked, flailing uselessly. “PLEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

Tajima laughed again, putting his efforts into holding Abe captive so Mihashi could keep tickling his worst spot. “Sorry, Abe, but you know, this is a Halloween party. Trick or treat, my friend!”

By the time the night was over, Mihashi felt he’d gotten enough treats to last him until next spring when baseball season would begin once again.

*

24) Lee Mihashi, Ler Abe

The off-season was…different for Mihashi and Abe’s friendship, to say the least.

Having met in April before their first season together and bonding entirely over baseball, finishing up the year and entering into the colder months brought out a side to each of them the other had never seen.

For instance, while Abe was still on to him about keeping his weight consistent and his pitching arm loose, he wasn’t nearly as militaristic about it, especially as the holidays came around. Mihashi, on the other hand, was far more quiet and tense in a different kind of way. It didn’t take much for Abe to put it together that it was because he didn’t know how to be friends with him outside of the game, so – constantly making an effort to meet his friend halfway – Abe had invited him over for a movie night just for the two of them.

Now, as the catcher stole a glance at Mihashi from the corner of his eye and saw how rigid he still was even half an hour and a bowl of popcorn later, he sighed. “Is this how it’s going to be all winter?”

“H-Huh?” Mihashi stammered, looking at him nervously.

“Are you going to be all weird and quiet around me now that we’re not playing baseball? I can’t be that scary, can I?”

“N-No! You’re not!”

It sounded more to Abe like he very much was. With another sigh, he cracked his knuckles. “Guess I gotta do it then, huh?”

“What do you m-mean…? Ah! AIEE!! A-Ahahahahahabe!” the pitcher squealed with giggles when the brunette’s fingers found his upper ribs, trying to get to his underarms that Mihashi was stubbornly protecting, shaking his head. “Nahahahahaha! I w-wohohohon’t be weheheheheird!”

“Don’t lie. That’s too tall of an order for you, Mihashi,” Abe teased, grinning despite himself. “Just promise you won’t give me the silent treatment all winter, okay? I still want to be friends with you even if we’re not playing baseball for a few months.”

“I prohohohohohomise! Plehehehehehease!”

Mihashi looked a lot happier and more relaxed now, so Abe let up as requested. There was a beat of silence between them, and then the catcher let out an even bigger sigh and flopped over, laying his head on the pitcher’s lap as he turned his attention back to the film.

“A-Abe?” The catcher murmured something, and Mihashi hesitated a moment before asking, “W-What did you say?”

“I said you’re comfy,” Abe replied a little louder, though his voice betrayed that he was clearly embarrassed by the admission. “Stay still.”

And, well…how was Mihashi supposed to not smile at that?

*

25) Lee Mihashi, Ler Abe

Mihashi fidgeted nervously, shifting from foot to foot, glancing back over his shoulder at Abe, who huffed at him.

“Well, go on,” he said, nodding toward Tajima, who looked confused but amused.

The cleanup hitter asked, “Why do I feel like you’re about to apologize for returning a library book one day late?”

Mihashi gulped. “I-I was just…just wondering if…m-maybe, if you w-wanted to, um…”

Abe tried to be patient. He really did. He gave Mihashi a few seconds, waited for him to get over whatever hurdle he’d run into.

Then he ran out of patience.

He grabbed his friend’s sides and squeezed, and Mihashi yelped and immediately burst into giggles, shooting his catcher a surprised look over his shoulder.

“Just helping you loosen up,” Abe said evenly, squeezing and digging his fingers in harder where he knew it tickled more, smirking at Tajima. “He wants to ask you something, but he’s chickening out.”

“Ahahahahabe!” Mihashi squealed, though he wasn’t really trying to get away, as per usual. He squirmed and wiggled in place, hopping from one foot to the other like he was dancing.

“Ask him, Mihashi.”

“B-Buhuhuhuhut…! But you’re tihihihihickling mehehehe!”

“And?” Abe grinned, suddenly feeling playful. He wrapped his arms around the pitcher from behind, hugging him to his chest while his fingers continued to tickle up and down his sides. “You can talk just fine while laughing. Ask him.”

Tajima had to laugh at this point as well. “Yeah, Mihashi, ask me! It can’t be that bad, coming from you. What’s up?”

Mihashi had to admit he felt a lot lighter and more confident now, so he sputtered, “C-Cahahahan you teheheheach me how to behehehehe a better hihihihihitter?”

Abe kept tickling him while Tajima pretended to contemplate his answer.

“Sure,” the cleanup hitter replied, giving him a thumbs-up. “I got your back, my dude.”

Mihashi would have smiled had he not already been giggling. “Thahahahank you! A-Ahahabe, you cahahahan stop now!”

“On the contrary, Abe,” Tajima replied, grabbing Mihashi’s wrists and holding them above his head. “I think you missed a spot.”

Abe beamed and used the opportunity to dig into the pitcher’s underarms, and he and Tajima shared knowing looks with each other as their ace shrieked with happy, ticklish laughter.

*

26) Lee Abe, Ler Tajima

When Tajima playfully wiggled a feather along the back of Abe’s neck, he expected the catcher to turn around and glare at him, perhaps bat him away or even scrunch up his shoulders defensively. What he didn’t expect was for Abe to immediately let out a squeal, slapping a hand to the back of his neck so fast it actually trapped the feather in its place.

Then he turned around, looking confused and embarrassed.

“Jeez, Tajima,” he mumbled, releasing his grip and shivering as if trying to get rid of the residual feeling of the feather along his skin.

Tajima blinked, then broke into a huge grin. “Jeez, yourself.” He dragged the tickly strands down his neck a second time, getting the same reaction. “You’re crazy ticklish here, huh?”

Abe crushed the feather in his fist and yanked it from the cleanup hitter, throwing it to the ground. “Shut up.”

There was a brief pause. Just as Abe was turning around again – perhaps to apologize or to explain himself, Tajima didn’t know – the third baseman darted forward and started raking his fingernails gently up and down the catcher’s neck.

Abe shrieked this time, going to bolt out of his seat but stopped by an arm around his chest as Tajima kept him right where he wanted him.

To Tajima’s surprise, prolonged tickling here drew out a myriad of noises he’d never heard from Abe before – a collection of squeaks, wheezes, and whines that only made the exploration of this new tickle spot more fun for him.

“Aww, you’re super ticklish here! Almost as bad as your hips, huh, Abe?” he teased.

Abe squirmed in his seat, trying to pry his captor’s arm away from his chest while also clawing at the fingers scribbling against his neck, giggling hysterically all the while. “Stohohohohohohop! Plehehehehehease! It’s so bahahahahahad!”

“I can see that,” Tajima returned easily, finding a spot just below his earlobe that really got Abe cackling. He smirked. “Does Mihashi know about this?”

In response, Abe let out a startled cry that quickly dissolved into laughter when the cleanup hitter scratched consistently at that new spot. He squirmed and pleaded, “Dohohohohohohon’t tehehehehell him! Plehehehehease, Tajima!”

At that moment Tajima glanced up and saw said pitcher jogging toward the dugout where they were playing around, and he chuckled. “I have a feeling I’m not going to have to say a word, Abe.”

*

27) Lee Mihashi, Ler Abe

“How do you feel about ghosts?”

Mihashi turned and looked back at Abe, who was holding up a box of cute string-light ghosts. “O-Oh! Those are…kind of cute,” he murmured.

Abe nodded, considered the box, and plopped it in their basket, going right back to browsing without another word.

The two of them had been sent out to get decorations for their upcoming Halloween party, so here they were, walking up and down the aisles of a party store, looking at everything from pumpkins to bats to ghosts to creepy clowns. Abe personally thought they’d have been better suited to get supplies such as plates, napkins, snacks, and the like, but Coach had been insistent.

“W-What’s your favorite Halloween thing, Abe?” Mihashi asked, amazingly stammering only once in that whole sentence. The catcher hoped it meant he was getting used to him.

“I don’t know,” he replied, glancing up and down the aisle, thinking for a moment. “Maybe vampires? Nah, that’s too cliché. Skeletons, I guess.”

Mihashi blinked at him. “Y-You can…like something that’s c-cliché…right?”

Abe rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I like both.”

“So…will you dress up for Halloween?”

“Uh…I don’t know.” Abe frowned, then eyed Mihashi curiously. “Are you going to?”

The pitcher nodded, averting his eyes, letting them roam over the costumes in the aisle. “I want to.”

“What will you go as?”

“M-Maybe…a v-vampire?”

It took every ounce of self-control he had for Abe not to burst out laughing. “You? A vampire? Wait…” He blinked. “Is that why you asked what my favorite Halloween thing is?”

Mihashi looked like he wanted to die. “I-I mean…I-I just…it’s j-just…”

Abe strode toward him and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “Chill, man. I’m not making fun of you. It’s just kind of…unexpected. But I really don’t think you could pull off the vampire look, Mihashi.”

The pitcher was nodding halfway through his sentence. “Y-You’re right, I can’t. I don’t know why I thought…”

“But I do think you could pull off being a skeleton. You’re always having trouble keeping your weight up.” Abe smirked and poked his ribs, earning a squeak from his friend. “Make sure to have a lot of Halloween candy at the party, all right? But not so much you get sick.”

“I-I will,” Mihashi stammered, fighting back a smile.

Abe glanced around. They happened to be alone in the aisle at the moment, so he set his basket down and grabbed Mihashi around the midsection, vibrating his fingers playfully into his sides and belly.

Mihashi squealed, instantly covering up his mouth to keep his voice down as he giggled and squirmed. “Ahahahahabe!”

“I can even feel your ribs! You can definitely pull off a skeleton, dude.”

“Ehehehehehehe! Okahahahahay, I’ll behehehehe a skeheheheheheleton! Ahahahahabe!”

Abe grinned despite himself. “What’s your favorite Halloween thing, Mihashi?”

The pitcher shimmied and squirmed in Abe’s grasp, halfheartedly trying to get away as he giggled out, “Blahahahahack cahahahahats!”

“Wow, no hesitation.” Abe chuckled and finally let him go, ruffling his hair before reaching for their discarded basket full of Halloween decorations. “I guess it wouldn’t be hard to dress as a black cat. Just find some cat ears somewhere and then wear all black, right?”

Mihashi glanced at him in surprise, still smiling from the surprise attack. “Y-You…want to dress up as a b-black cat?”

Abe shrugged, scanning the shelves nonchalantly. “I mean, if we’re going as each other’s favorite thing…”

Mihashi beamed. He couldn’t wait for their Halloween party.

*

28) Lee Mihashi, Ler Abe

“H-Hey, Abe?”

“Yeah?”

Mihashi fidgeted nervously as he always did, his pink cheeks nearly hidden by his scarf. Abe kept his hands in his pockets – he’d forgotten gloves, which he was now lamenting – and gave it five seconds before huffing out a sigh and saying in a firmer tone, “Use your words, Mihashi. What is it?”

The two of them were sitting outside waiting for a ride from Mihashi’s mom. School had let out for the winter holidays and they had agreed to hang out for a while before having to part ways for a couple of weeks. Now it was dark out and they were both more than ready to go home and warm up and eat, but the weather had delayed Mrs. Mihashi’s arrival somewhat.

“D-Do you want…um, I mean, we can…m-maybe…uh…”

Despite having known each other for eight months now, Mihashi still didn’t quite know how to talk to Abe, or ask him for anything directly. Abe, for his part, had gotten better about being patient with him, but when all else failed…

Bracing himself for the cold, Abe removed one of his hands from his pockets and started squeezing Mihashi’s knee on the bench next to him. “Use your words, I said. Come on, spit it out.”

Mihashi’s bright giggles always made the space between them less tense, and Abe couldn’t help but smirk after a few seconds of hearing them. He’d have gone for a worse spot like his armpits, but underneath that bulky coat, he was certain it wouldn’t have done much good. Besides, lighter tickles were just as fun and effective sometimes.

“D-Dohohohoho you wahahahahahant to build a s-s-snohohohowman whihihile we wahahahait?” Mihashi finally stammer-giggled after several long moments.

Abe kept up his light squeezing for a moment, then stopped and replied, “I mean…I guess I wouldn’t mind, but I kind of don’t have gloves. My hands will freeze before we even get started.”

“Oh! R-Right…I forgot. Sorry, Abe,” Mihashi apologized quickly, his cheeks turning even pinker, if that were possible.

Abe hesitated, then smiled. “Buuuut…I think I know something else we could do to pass the time.”

Mihashi glanced at him with a mix of trepidation and excitement in his eyes. “Y-Yeah?”

This time, Abe went for both knees at once, laughing along with Mihashi as he squealed and squirmed in place and clenched his fists in his gloves over and over again, his laughter literally visible as puffs of frozen air around them.

Abe stopped as soon as he saw the sweep of headlights – he’d be caught dead before being caught tickling Mihashi by his mom of all people – but it certainly was a fun way to pass the next few minutes of waiting. And – bonus – they were both feeling warmer by the time they got into the car.

*

29) Lee Abe, Ler Mihashi

Abe felt a light tickling on the back of his neck and he shot upright with a gasp, slapping his hand over the offending spot and whirling around to look at his friend.

Mihashi was wide-eyed and frozen to the spot, looking like he was just as startled as Abe was.

“Um…a-are you okay? Abe?” the pitcher asked him.

Blinking, Abe decided it must have been a bug, because he was fairly certain Mihashi hadn’t been messing with him. He looked too nervous for that. Plus, he was pretty sure his friend didn’t know how sensitive his neck was, anyway.

“Yeah,” he replied at last, shivering a little, inspecting his hand when he drew it away and finding nothing. “Sorry. Just thought I felt something crawling on me.”

“Oh. I…didn’t see anything,” Mihashi offered.

Abe dared to mess with him. “Were you staring at my neck to know?”

“No! I-I…I just…!”

“Relax, Mihashi, I’m kidding,” Abe chuckled, tossing him the extra pillow he’d brought out here for their mini camping excursion.

It wasn’t really a camping excursion; the two of them had borrowed a tent from Abe’s parents and set it up in his front yard. It was a good way to ease Mihashi into more than just sleeping over without the pressure of actually being away from any adults if he felt like he needed them nearby. They’d still managed to make s’mores (by heating them up in the microwave and then hurrying outside before they cooled down) and they were going to sleep in the tent tonight, but that was pretty much it.

It would do for a first time, Abe figured.

After a couple of moments of silence of the two of them getting their sleeping bags arranged for when they eventually decided to pass out, Abe felt that strange sensation on the back of his neck again, and he gritted his teeth to keep from gasping a second time, scrunching his shoulders as he reached back with more purpose to try and remove whatever was crawling on him.

To his surprise – and slight horror – what he felt instead was not a bug, but a finger.

This time when he whirled around, Mihashi looked guilty.

“You didn’t see anything, huh?” Abe muttered.

The pitcher stammered, “I-It wasn’t me…the first time. But the way you r-reacted, I wondered…I thought, maybe…I wanted to know…”

Abe sighed heavily. “Well, did you get your answer?”

Mihashi nodded, then seemed to hesitate. “Is…is your neck really that ticklish, Abe?”

The catcher blushed before he could even try to fight it off, and he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not!” Mihashi replied adamantly. “I t-think it’s…um…ah…”

After a moment’s contemplation, Abe shifted so he was facing his friend, clenching his fists in his lap. “Go on. You obviously want to try it.”

A tiny spark of eagerness flickered in his friend’s eyes, and Mihashi tentatively reached forward to drag a single fingertip down Abe’s neck. The catcher sucked in a breath and willed himself to stay still, but as soon as the pitcher added the other fingers and scribbled, he lost his willpower and broke into a string of giggles, wrenching away from him.

“That’s…kind of f-fun, Abe,” Mihashi told him quietly, nervously.

Abe blushed again, but smirked. “Fun, huh? Is your neck ticklish, Mihashi?”

The two of them ended up giggling a lot together that night before sleep finally overtook them.

*

30) Lee Mihashi, Ler Abe

The way Mihashi screeched when the water balloon burst, one would have thought it had exploded open on the back of his head.

Alas, he’d had no such luck. In his efforts to actually join in and throw a balloon instead of just being pelted by them, the pitcher had used his arm a bit too well and hit Abe squarely on the back of his skull. Now the catcher stood frozen in place with his hair sopping wet, slowly turning to search for his assailant.

Mihashi was far less worried about what would happen to him in retaliation than he was about his catcher, however, and he was already waving his arms and panicking aloud, “A-Abe! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was aiming for your back – are you okay?! Did I hurt you?! Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to—!”

“Mihashi,” Abe said in a very calm voice, making his friend stammer to a halt. “I’m proud of you.”

“I – you…you’re…what?” Mihashi blinked at him. Around them their teammates had all frozen in place, too, waiting to see how this would play out. Hanai hovered nearby, waiting to see if he’d need to step in and rescue their pitcher.

Abe straightened and smirked. “I’m proud of you. You actually got involved with the water balloon fight. Even if we did say headshots were off-limits.”

“I know, I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to—”

“I’m a little surprised, actually. Your throwing control is the best I’ve ever seen. Guess the balloon was a little too slick, huh?”

Mihashi gulped and nodded, still unsure how to process that his normally grumpy catcher wasn’t yelling at him.

Abe grinned, snatched a balloon out of Tajima’s indignant hands, and bolted for the pitcher. “Come here!”

Poor Mihashi barely had a chance to register that he was being chased before Abe tossed the balloon at him and it burst open on his shoulder as he turned to run. Then he was tackled to the ground and fingers were in his sides and the pitcher squealed with giggles, catching a flash of Abe’s smiling face as he squirmed.

“Ahahahaha?! Ahahahahabe, wahahahahahait! I’m sohohohohohorry!”

“I know you are,” Abe replied, tweaking his ribs, the water from his hair dripping down onto the both of them as they wrestled each other. “But since I can’t throw a balloon at your head, this is what I’ll have to settle on for revenge.”

Around them, the rest of the team breathed a sigh of relief and got back into the fray, paying no mind to their catcher tickling their pitcher into shrieking fits of giggles.

“Ehehehehehehehehe! Ahahahahahahabe!” Mihashi cried, letting out a yelp when his friend finally managed to wiggle into an armpit. “AHAHAHAHAHAHA WAHAHAHAHAHAHAIT!!”

“Tch, wait for what?”

“I DOHOHOHOHOHON’T KNOHOHOHOHOW!! JUST – AIEEHEHEHEHEHEHE IT TIHIHIHIHICKLES!!”

*

42) Lee Sigma, Ler Ranpo

“Are you telling me you’ve never decorated for Christmas before?” Tanizaki asked incredulously, taking the string of lights from Sigma, who looked at him with a confused and mildly upset expression.

“I haven’t exactly been alive all that long,” he murmured.

“Oh…right. Sorry.”

Atsushi glanced over at them, feeling a pang of sympathy for their new member. “I didn’t really know what I was doing the first time, either. I didn’t get to participate in the holidays at the orphanage.”

Sigma looked surprised, opening his mouth to say something, but a loud groan stopped him in his tracks and they both turned their attention to the source.

“Quit being so depressing,” Ranpo complained. “It’s Christmas! Candy canes and cocoa and peppermint chocolates and—”

“It’s not all about the food, Ranpo,” Kunikida admonished gently.

“Yeah, yeah.” The greatest detective in the world hopped to his feet and grabbed Sigma’s arm. “Come on. We’ll start with a wreath. Those are easy to manage.”

Atsushi watched with fascination as the smaller boy fished a wreath out of their box of decorations and handed it to Sigma. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Dazai smiling fondly at them both – a rare expression from the brunette.

“Take this hook,” Ranpo instructed, “and put it on the door first, with the curved end facing this way – there you go. Now just hang the wreath on it. Oh! Make sure the bow is on top, though.”

“Is that important?” Sigma asked genuinely, shifting the wreath in his arms to accommodate the instructions given to him.

Some of the ADA members started to tell him it wasn’t, but Ranpo cut through them all. “Of course! The bow is the best part. It has to be on top; there’s no other way to do it.”

Sigma hummed in interest, then lifted his arms to place the wreath on the hook. No sooner had he gotten it in place than Ranpo darted wiggling fingers into his armpits and upper ribs, making Sigma squeak in surprise and whirl around, backing against the now-decorated door.

“W-What…why did you…?” he stammered, looking genuinely confused.

Atsushi didn’t even have a chance to tell him it wasn’t anything he’d done – Ranpo was just like that sometimes – before Dazai called out casually, “Go for the hips, Ranpo~”

Sigma looked startled and confused and nervous and excited all at once. It was an interesting combination of emotions, but no one had a chance to say anything about it before Ranpo had grabbed onto his hips and started tickling quickly but gently, making Sigma squeal again and burst into hysterical giggles that brightened the room more than the Christmas music that was playing from the radio.

“W-Wahahahahahait, wait, whahahahahahat did I dohohohohoho? I dohohohohon’t understahahahahand!” Sigma cried, squirming helplessly against the door but making barely any move to get away or fight back at all.

Atsushi smiled at the scene, blushing a little. It seemed Dazai wasn’t the only one who loved getting tickled around here anymore.

“You hung the wreath up just right,” Ranpo said nonchalantly, grinning and continuing to tickle consistently yet gently. “That means you’ve earned a reward~”

No one had the heart to say otherwise when Sigma was laughing so happily.

*

43) Lee Dazai, Ler Fyodor

“Dazai.”

“Hmm?”

“Kindly remove your foot from my knee, please.”

A slow, wicked smirk. “Why should I?”

Fyodor’s face was impassive, but his clenched jaw gave him away. He took in a slow, intentional breath, studied the board, and moved a piece. “Your turn.”

“Such focus,” Dazai teased, dropping his eyes to the board himself. He made a show of putting his chin in his hands as if seriously contemplating his next move, all while his socked toes dragged purposefully along the side of the Russian man’s knee.

Fyodor’s breath hitching was near silent, but Dazai heard it, and it made all of this worth it.

The brunette moved a piece with flourish, then leaned forward to gaze lovingly at his partner as though they were at a romantic dinner and not playing chess. “Your turn~” he cooed, reaching under the table to replace his foot with his fingers, gently squeezing Fyodor’s kneecap.

The demon let out a soft curse in Russian, clenching a fist on the table, glaring at Dazai. “Be very careful, Dazai. You wouldn’t want to regret your actions, now, would you?”

Dazai fluttered his eyelashes at him. “Oh, but I would~”

Fyodor scoffed, made his next move, then leaned back in his seat with a triumphant smile. “Check.”

Dazai glanced at the board again and blinked, quirking a brow. “Hmm.” He dropped his hand from his partner’s knee to move a piece, and that was when Fyodor struck, grabbing his foot when it came back up to tease him and wiggling his fingers against the socked sole.

The detective squawked in surprise, gripping the table to keep from ruining their game, giggling helplessly as he did so. “Ah! Fyohohohoho!”

“Well? Better move, Dazai, or this game will be over and your safety from my wrath is forfeit.”

Dazai – curse him – somehow managed a wobbly smirk in the midst of his giggles and said, “Perhaps I wahahahant to suffer your wrahahahath, bunny~”

Then he purposely moved a piece that wouldn’t help him at all, officially giving the Russian the game.

Fyodor’s eyes grew cold and menacing in that way that Dazai both loved and feared.

“Very well, detective. You want me to tickle you so badly?” All at once Fyodor flipped the table and dove for Dazai, who screeched in delighted terror as those hands descended on his torso, drawing out even louder laughter. “You’d best be prepared to beg me for mercy in order to gain your freedom, love.”

*

44) Lee Dazai, Ler Fyodor

Dazai didn’t get nervous easily. It took a lot to get him to a point where he was truly on edge, worried that his actions had severe consequences, even scared that he might not make it out of a situation unscathed.

Looking at Fyodor now, this was one of those very rare times.

“Now, bunny,” he said, a slight waver in his voice that only made his partner’s evil smile grow. “Let’s…let’s be rational about this.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” the Russian replied, grabbing onto his wrist and yanking him forward so he could wrap his other arm around the detective in an iron grip. “You’ve chosen your fate.”

“But—” Dazai was cut off with a choke on his own giggles, biting his lip to try and stave off the smile that threatened to break free. He failed miserably.

“How badly should I punish you, lyubov’?” Fyodor mused, easily maneuvering to grasp Dazai’s other wrist as well, holding both captive against his chest while the other dug precise fingers into his ribs, forcing the brunette to squirm in place and snicker, his face aflame.

“You k-knohohohow I lihihihihike when you plahahahay dihihihirty,” Dazai attempted to flirt/tease/flatter in an attempt to get out of this mess. “B-But yohohohohou’ll hahahahahave to find sohohomething else to use agahahahainst me—EEEEK!!”

Fyodor’s voice and gaze were as calm and cold as ever. “Will I?”

“WAHAHAHAHAIT, BUNNY!!” Dazai was full-on struggling now, laughter spilling out of him as his wicked partner dug mercilessly into his hip, making him writhe against his chest uselessly.

“I know you enjoy tickling to an extent, love,” Fyodor said, leaning down to whisper the next part directly in the brunette’s ear. “But everyone has their breaking point.”

Dazai was beyond nervous now – he was both elated and terrified of what he knew was about to be the worst tickle torture he’d ever endure in his life. In fact, he might actually be tickled to death this time.

What a way to go.

“PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE, HAVE MEHEHEHEHEHERCY, BUNNY—!!”

Fyodor only chuckled and started dragging him – still laughing and struggling – to a more convenient location.

“Devils like us don’t deserve mercy, Osamu.”

*

45) Lee Chuuya, Ler Dazai

Dazai’s blowing on Chuuya’s ear and eliciting such a squeal as to put the loudest pig on Earth to shame was purely accidental – it really was!

They’d been on a walk – something Chuuya insisted upon despite Dazai’s desperate desire to stay inside and lounge on his day off – when the detective noticed a piece of dandelion fluff cutely trapped just behind his ear. He’d only intended to help out by blowing a puff of air to dislodge it, but the way Chuuya spasmed and nearly lost his footing made him stop in his tracks and stare.

“Chibi?”

“Not a word!” Chuuya snapped, turning to face him with a pink flush to his cheeks and that adorable scowl he got when he was embarrassed. “Not one fucking word from you!”

Dazai bit his lip more as a mock showing of compliance than an attempt to hold back his smile, which he did not. Instead of speaking, he hummed knowingly, which only seemed to make things worse.

“Shut up, okay?! I know!” Chuuya huffed, turning his back and crossing his arms. “I’m stupidly sensitive, even the smallest things make me freak out, it’s totally ridiculous—”

Still without a word, Dazai gently wrapped his arms around his partner’s shoulders from behind and hugged him gently. “Mm-mm,” he hummed in disapproval, shaking his head.

“On second thought, you not saying anything is almost making this worse,” Chuuya muttered. “So fine, say whatever you wanna say.”

“Yes, you’re really sensitive, but that’s one of the things that make you so adorable, chibi,” Dazai said softly, briefly squeezing him again. “Just because I like to make fun of you doesn’t mean I think it’s stupid. You’re just fun to pick on.”

Chuuya huffed, but his blush darkened, and Dazai smiled and gently blew on his ear a second time.

“Shit,” Chuuya whimpered through a helpless giggle, scrunching his shoulders defensively. “Don’t do that, asshole.”

“But it’s cuuuuute,” Dazai whined, immediately in playful mode as he hugged his boyfriend from behind and blew tiny puffs of air on each of his ears, making him snicker and squirm in place, only half trying to escape. “And you know you like it, Chuuuuya~”

“Shuhuhuhuhuhuhuhut up,” the redhead complained, but his bright smile gave him away. He held onto Dazai’s arms around his shoulders but didn’t try to fight him off. He knew he was being obvious, but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now. Dazai had told him he was adorable like this. And, well…

Who said he didn’t like being called cute from time to time?

*

46) Lee Fyodor, Ler Dazai

“Oh?” Fyodor mumbled with a sleepy smile as Dazai pushed the covers aside to loosely straddle his hips, grinning down at him. “You want to go another round already? I thought I’d tired you out.”

Dazai ran his hands up and down his partner’s arms. “You did. I’m too tired to go again right now, bunny. Don’t worry.”

“Hmm. Then what are you doing?”

Dazai tilted his head as though the answer should be obvious, lightly trailing his hands down Fyodor’s chest. “Just thinking of how I can get you back.”

“Aha.” Fyodor smirked up at him. “And what have you concluded, moy blestyashchiy?”

The detective hummed again, dramatically shifting into a “thinking very hard” pose. Then his eyes lit up like fireworks and he snapped his fingers. “I know!”

He wasn’t even touching Fyodor – he was hovering almost six inches above him, in fact – but the sight of Dazai’s wiggling pointer fingers over his bare torso made the Russian full-body shiver, and he instinctively brought his arms in to protect himself, despite not actually needing to…yet.

“Moya lyubov’,” Fyodor muttered, his voice wavering ever so slightly, “don’t do it.”

“Don’t do what?”

The Russian wasn’t stupid enough to fall for that trick. He attempted a glare, but it was halfhearted at best with the way the brunette was beaming down at him.

“Worth a shot,” Dazai chuckled, switching from wiggling just two fingers to wiggling all of them, darting down as though he were about to attack before pulling back at the last second. It was worth it to hear Fyodor’s sharp intake of breath, to watch him twist uselessly to the side as if he could go anywhere like this.

“Dazai, don’t.”

“Don’t what, bunny?”

Fyodor hated the way the too-smart-for-his-own-good detective was looking at him. Like he was just waiting for an invitation, an excuse to go for it – like hearing him sputter out helpless giggles would give him all the fuel he needed to get through his next day.

“Don’t…tease me,” Fyodor relented, refusing to make eye contact. “Just do it already, pridurok.”

“I don’t know what you called me, but I’m sure it was a loving pet name, right, bunny?” Dazai giggled, then finally brought his wiggling fingers down to Fyodor’s sides, watching him arch and snicker with immense satisfaction.

“Ya tehehehehebya nenahahahahavizhu!”

“Love you too, Fyo~”

*

47) Lee Dazai, Ler Chuuya

The bed shifted for the millionth time, followed by a heavy, resigned sigh.

Chuuya opened his eyes and mumbled, “Can’t sleep?”

“No.”

Dazai had nights like this sometimes. He could usually get a few hours of sleep at least, but sometimes even those few precious hours escaped him when the world was heavy on his mind. He’d toss and turn and make it difficult for Chuuya to sleep, too, but the redhead couldn’t complain when he knew how bad his partner’s mental state was on nights like this.

He shifted as well and lifted his arm. “Come here.”

Without a word of protest or teasing, Dazai did as he was told.

“The little spoon, idiot.”

Chuuya heard the brunette chuckle softly before rolling over so he could assume the position the mafioso wanted. The smaller man snuggled up to his back and wrapped his arm around him, hugging him close before lightly dragging his nails down his lover’s ribs.

Dazai sucked in a sharp, surprised breath and sputtered a few giggles. “Chuuyaaaa…”

“Hush. Just relax. I know this is your favorite spot.”

Favorite may not have been the right word, but it was close enough – it was the spot that helped him relax, helped him melt into the mattress and surrender completely. It would help him drift off, hopefully with good dreams to follow.

A rustling on the other side of the brunette told Chuuya that Dazai was clenching the pillow as he giggled into it, trembling a little but not actually squirming or trying to escape.

“Hmm,” the redhead hummed, hugging him closer and kissing his shoulder blade.

“Whahahahahat?”

“Just soaking up your little laughs. They’re cute. They sound like a lullaby.”

He knew Dazai was blushing. He didn’t need his eyes open to know what that hitch in his partner’s breathing meant. “Shuhuhuhuhut up.”

“I’m letting you get away with that only because you need sleep,” Chuuya grunted, allowing himself one harder pinch to Dazai’s hip in retaliation. He smirked when the brunette squeaked and jumped. “Rest, Dazai. I’ve got you.”

Dazai closed his eyes and let himself be gently and ticklishly lulled into slumber at last.

*

48) Lee Dazai, Ler Chuuya

“You’re ridiculous.” The words came out as a scoff, but Chuuya was smirking, and really, Dazai was too far gone to notice or care at this point.

In the early days, the brunette had been whiny and shy whenever his redheaded subordinate tickled him like this, even though he always obviously wanted it. Nowadays the shyness was mostly evaporated, but the whininess had evolved into something more purposeful and goading. He did it now, hands gripping Chuuya’s wrists but never pushing him away.

“Chihihihihihihihibi!”

Well, the name-calling certainly wasn’t doing him any favors.

“Call me that again and I’ll strangle you, you freak,” Chuuya growled, shifting his tone and position, sliding his hands to Dazai’s waist and pressing into his hip bones with determination.

Dazai squealed and arched his back, giggles morphing into laughter, his stupidly beautiful face half obscured by the bandages he insisted on wearing. “Prohohohohohohohomise?”

“Son of a—” Chuuya was still getting used to the casualness with which Dazai referred to his own demise. He growled. “Obviously not, moron!” He switched up his technique again, from digging to crazed scribbling along Dazai’s waistline, unable to help the tiny smile on his lips when the brunette squealed again and dissolved into wheezing giggles. “Heh, you enjoying yourself, boss? You’re holding onto me but you’re not pushing me away.”

“Huhuhuhuhuhush!”

Ah – another thing Chuuya was getting used to. How easily teasing took Dazai down in these situations. He smirked anew.

“I will not. You obviously love it. Why else would you keep bugging me into tickling you silly? You just need a breather, don’t you? Want me to tickle you until you can’t remember anything else?”

“Shuhuhuhuhuhuhut up!” Dazai whined again, his grip on Chuuya’s wrists tightening.

Chuuya hummed, gradually dragging his tickling fingers up from Dazai’s hips to his sides and ribs and eventually—

The brunette’s grip tightened, his visible eye wide with excitement despite his pleading, “Nohohohoho, Chuuya!”

“Oh, now you call me by my name,” the redhead taunted, activating his ability for the first time to pry Dazai’s fingers from his wrists. “When I’m about to go for the kill.”

“Plehehehehehehehehease!”

“Hmm…please what?”

Dazai didn’t say anything, just looked up at him with a mix of excitement and nerves, giggling despite himself. He lasted about five seconds before tearing his gaze away. There was the lingering shyness, but Chuuya wouldn’t allow it to last.

He drove his hands into Dazai’s armpits, enjoying the fresh shriek and subsequent laughter he pulled from his irritating superior. “I’ll assume that since you didn’t specify, what you meant was to please keep tickling you, right, Dazai?”

*

49) Lee Atsushi, Ler Dazai

It came as no surprise to Astushi that Dazai refused to remove his bandages even at the beach.

To his credit, the man at least wore a plain white t-shirt and shorts, but the bandages remained stubbornly in place. Atsushi had never given much thought to them – chalking it up to yet another of the brunette’s bizarre quirks – but at this point even he had to wonder what was under them.

“You’re not getting in the water, Atsushi?” Dazai asked him now, standing over him with a knowing smile as Atsushi lounged under an umbrella, taking in the warmth of the sand beneath and the sun above.

“I’m not a fan of water, really,” Atsushi replied.

“But you can swim, can’t you?”

“Yeah…”

“You dove into that river to rescue me when we first met, after all.”

Atsushi blushed and glanced away. “Those were different circumstances.”

Dazai hummed and sat down beside him, seemingly uncaring of the fact there was no towel in the spot he chose to place his rear end. “So many beautiful women here. I wonder if any of them would—”

“Don’t even think about it, Dazai,” Atsushi groaned, unable to muster up the energy to snap at him like he normally would have. “This is a public beach, meant for relaxing and having fun. Don’t ruin it.”

The brunette gave him a wicked smirk. “Why, I was only going to muse about whether any of them would want to have a drink with me at the tiki bar~”

Atsushi was 100% certain that wasn’t what his boss had been about to say, but he let it go. “Well, go find one to ask and let me relax in peace.”

“Oh? Am I bothering you, Atsushi?”

The instant he felt fingers scribbling into his unfortunately very exposed tummy, Atsushi knew he’d made a mistake. He yelped and curled in on himself, giggling and giving his friend a wide-eyed, pleading look. “Nohoho, wait—”

“Does this bother you? Huh? How about this?” Dazai chuckled, easily keeping up with his squirming as Atsushi rolled onto his side and then began flailing, hysterical giggles pouring out of him unfiltered. Then one of his tickling fingers slipped into his belly button, and Atsushi shrieked, and the brunette teased, “Oooh, how about this? Does this spot bother you, Atsushi?”

“Dahahahahahahahazai!” Atsushi pleaded, desperately trying to cover his tummy with his arms, sand raining down on them both as he kicked and writhed. “Plehehehehehehease! No fahahahahahahair!”

“I’m just relaxing and having fun, Atsushi~ Isn’t that what you said one does at the beach? Hmm?” Dazai grinned playfully, grabbing one of his flailing arms and skittering his fingernails into his ribs instead.

Atsushi squealed and cried, “Plehehehehehehehease! No mohohohohohohohore!”

Finally Dazai let him be, ruffling his hair before getting to his feet. Atsushi let out a few leftover giggles and grinned up at him as he dusted himself off as best he could, eyes scanning the beach. “Let’s see now…ooh! Maybe that redheaded beauty would be a good place to start!”

With a wave, Dazai took off toward his intended target of affection. Atsushi pitied the poor individual, but not enough to get up and try to stop him. With a smile, he lay back down and closed his eyes. He was already feeling warmer both inside and out.

*

50) Switches Shin Soukoku

“The stars are so pretty,” Atsushi murmured into the quiet night air.

“Like your eyes,” Akutagawa replied with no hesitation.

Atsushi turned to stare at him, dumbfounded. Had he really just…?

Akutagawa sensed the shift in the air and turned to face him as well, face impassive. “What?”

When Akutagawa had suggested – almost shyly – that Atsushi go stargazing with him, the weretiger was floored. Not only because it was such a normal thing to do, but because he’d recently learned that it was something Akutagawa did because he genuinely loved it, and because it brought him peace. To be allowed into that sacred space with him had meant everything to the younger man.

The last thing he’d expected tonight was for a comment like that to come out of his partner’s mouth.

Atsushi grinned. “That was…oddly sweet of you.”

Akutagawa scoffed, turning his eyes back to the skies, but it didn’t stop the hint of pink from flooding his cheeks. “It’s a point of fact, weretiger. Forget I said anything.”

“Aww, are you embarrassed now?” Atsushi teased, poking his ribs. When his partner flinched, he only grinned wider, repeating the action. “It’s so rare to hear you sound sentimental. Do you really think my eyes are pretty, Ryu?”

“Weretiger,” Akutagawa warned through a growly giggle, but Atsushi ignored him, moving to crawl on top of him and lightly tickle his sides, pressing kisses into his neck.

“Tell me again, Ryu,” he said sweetly, smiling at the way the older man gasped and tried to suppress his snickers with the sleeve of his coat. “Tell me my eyes are pretty again. Please, darling?”

Akutagawa let out a tiny whimper at the last kiss pressed into his neck, and then all of a sudden, the tables were turned.

Atsushi blinked up at the starry sky just as Akutagawa entered his vision, straddling him with an evil smirk. “You want to hear it again, huh, weretiger?” Fingers drilled into his sides in retaliation, making Atsushi squeal and arch his back, giggling freely. “You want me to tell you your eyes are beautiful? That I could get lost in them forever, that I love your stupid face? Hmm? Is that what you want, darling?”

Atsushi squealed again, covering his face with both hands as he giggled and whined, “Nohohohoooo, don’t cahahahahall me thahahahahat!”

“Oh? But you said it to me first, weretiger. I assumed you’d appreciate the reciprocation.” Akutagawa began scribbling wildly along his tummy. “Is this not what you wanted?”

“Plehehehehehehease! Ryuuuuu!” Atsushi begged, clutching his partner’s shoulders as he shook with laughter. “I’m sohohohohohorry, just plehehehehehehease! Lehehehehehet me gohohohoho!”

*

32) Lee Chuuya, Ler Dazai

Chuuya blushed so rarely, it was always a treat when Dazai got to witness it.

Like now, when the redhead was starting down at the paper in his hand with wide eyes and red cheeks, at a loss for words for once in his life.

Well – for a few moments, anyway.

“What the hell is this supposed to be?” Chuuya tried to snap, but it came out sounding more like a genuine question.

Dazai gave him a lazy smirk. “I’m sure you can read, chibi.”

“But…why would you think I’d want—?”

The detective shushed him with a finger to the lips, making Chuuya blink up at him in surprise and annoyance.

“Whenever you want me to wreck you, just hand me that paper.” Dazai gave him a gentle smile that was so unlike his usual teasing, nonchalant smirks that Chuuya didn’t know what to do with it. “I’m giving you a free pass to not have to ask me or provoke me first.”

Chuuya glanced down at the paper in his hands.

No way would he actually use this stupid thing. That would be humiliating. As good as admitting he wanted it.

Absolutely not.

~

Dazai had to admit, he was impressed that it took so long for his partner to get over himself and actually hand him that paper.

It had been three whole weeks, and – determined to make Chuuya actually fess up – the detective hadn’t once tickled him into hysterics in all that time. He hadn’t so much as poked a ticklish spot. It had been awful, really, but to see the mafioso finally come stomping up to him with the paper in his hand had made it all worth it.

“Here,” Chuuya growled, shoving the crumpled paper at his chest with a huff and a beautiful pink blush on his cheeks. “I’m redeeming this damn thing. Just do it already, you bastard.”

Dazai took the paper, glanced down at the “tickle me Chuuya” he’d scrawled across it, and gave his partner a slow smirk. “I knew you’d come around.”

“You said I wouldn’t have to ask for it if I gave you that—ack!” Chuuya yelped as Dazai grabbed onto him and pulled him down onto the couch, quickly moving to sit atop him and dig his fingers into the redhead’s ribs.

Chuuya squealed and arched his back, hands instinctively coming down to stop him before shooting up to cover his face instead as he cackled helplessly, squirming beneath the detective, whose smile could light up the whole of Yokohama.

“You bahahahahahahahastard! I hahahahahahahate you!”

“Sure you do, chibi,” Dazai replied, grinning as his mafioso partner let himself give in and laugh, squirming and blushing freely as the brunette’s fingers danced across his ticklish spots. “But just so you know, the fact that you love it when I tickle you is one of my favorite things about you.”

Chuuya tried to sputter out an indignant reply, but it was impossible when he was having so much fun, so he promised himself he’d chew Dazai out later and just focus on laughing his heart out for the moment.

It wasn’t like he could really deny it, after all…

*

33) Lee Sigma, Ler Dazai

Sigma was not at all used to Dazai’s shenanigans yet, though it gave him some small comfort to know that even his coworkers at the ADA were only barely used to them, and they’d known him much longer.

So when the brunette in question snuck up behind him in the hall one day and pressed his cold hands to Sigma’s neck, the taller man was only mildly embarrassed to have let out such a loud shriek in response.

He whirled around, putting his back to the wall and glaring daggers at the detective, who was bent over at the waist laughing, still bundled up in his bulkier outerwear for the winter. “That’s not funny. And highly immature.”

“Oh, come on, don’t go Kunikida on me,” Dazai replied through a wheeze, reaching out to jab his ribs playfully. “I get enough of that from the man himself.”

Sigma didn’t understand the sharp jolt that shot through his body in response to Dazai poking him, but he gasped and shrunk back all the same.

Dazai’s eyes lit up, and all of a sudden the other man had a terrible feeling he was in trouble.

“W-What?” he stammered, pressing himself against the wall as much as possible as Dazai approached him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You could have told me you were ticklish~”

“T-Ticklish? What…what does that mean?”

For a moment, the detective stopped in his tracks, looking utterly stunned. But it passed quickly, and he smirked instead. “Ah, right. I bet you didn’t get many people trying to tickle you at the casino.”

Sigma had no idea why that word was making his stomach do flips, but he couldn’t say he entirely disliked the feeling. “Ti-ckle?”

Without another word or warning, Dazai began rapidly and sporadically poking his ribs and belly, and – inexplicably – Sigma let out a squeak, followed by a spew of giggles he had absolutely no control over whatsoever. He was mortified, but the detective didn’t seem surprised in the least. In fact, he seemed…excited?

“W-Whahahahat? Whahahahat are you – D-Dahahahazai, wait!”

“Aww, you are ticklish! How cute~”

“B-But whahahahahat does that mehehehean? I cahahahahan’t stop—” At that moment Sigma let out another squeal and instinctively twisted away, only to be followed by Dazai pinching along his hip on the opposite side, effectively forcing him to squirm in place against the wall, still giggling helplessly.

“Can’t stop laughing? Good.” Dazai grinned, winked, and kept up the gentle assault. “That’s the whole point.”

Part of Sigma felt like he should be fighting back – pushing the brunette away, calling for help, something – but there was a larger part of him that really didn’t want to get away at all. He was laughing, after all, and he couldn’t remember a time he’d been able to giggle so freely.

Besides, Dazai looked like he was having fun, too. And if that were the case, why shouldn’t he let it continue?

*

34) Lee Dazai, Ler Chuuya

“Where are you going?” Chuuya growled, pulling Dazai closer to him by the ankles before straddling his thighs, pinning him in place. “A minute ago you wouldn’t leave me the hell alone, and now you’re trying to run away? I’m hurt.”

Dazai was cackling breathlessly, hands gripped around his boyfriend’s wrists as he wheezed, “Plehehehehehease, Chuuya!”

“You thought canceling my ability would be enough to free you, eh? You forget how good I am at no-skill combat.”

The detective could only laugh helplessly beneath his partner, already red in the face and gasping for breath as Chuuya continued to drill into his hips without mercy. He tried to buck him off but couldn’t even manage to do that.

“Plehehehehehehease, I’m sohohohohohorry! I’ll leheheheheheave you alone, I swear!”

Chuuya smirked down at him. “Still cold? You look like you’re warming up to me, Dazai. I knew you liked being tickled, but this much? Really?”

“The fihihihihihire is rihihihihihight behind me, you ahahahahahahass!” Dazai shot back, tossing his head back with a scream and clamping his arms to his sides when the mafioso dove into his armpits. “NOHOHOHOHOHO PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE NOT AGAIN!! CHUHUHUHUHUHUUYA I’M SOHOHOHOHOHORRY!!”

The redhead chuckled, watching his boyfriend fall to pieces beneath him with no small amount of satisfaction. Yes, his partner loved being tickled, but to get him to the point where he was truly desperate for it to stop and would do anything to make it happen? It was nigh impossible to achieve, and Chuuya had done it in mere minutes. He was proud of himself.

“Let’s see…what do I want you to do for me…?”

Dazai’s laughter was turning frantic, and Chuuya knew he didn’t have long before he seriously needed to stop, but he was going to draw this out as long as he could, damn it.

“AHAHAHAHAHANYTHING!! ANYTHING YOU WAHAHAHAHAHANT CHUUYA!! PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

Chuuya hummed, kept digging into his worst spot for another few moments, then finally slowed to a stop and grinned as Dazai sucked in a huge breath of air, mirthful tears streaming down his face. He was utterly wrecked, and the redhead was loving the sight of it.

“I think,” he said at last, “I want you to take me somewhere really nice for dinner. As a bonus Christmas present.”

“Okay,” Dazai said instantly, a clear indicator that he was well and truly done with tickles for the day. “Wherever you want. Just name it.”

“Good.” Chuuya smirked, brushing his partner’s bangs from his face. “And if you’re really good, I’ll reward you for it afterward. Yeah?”

Dazai’s eyes widened, but then it seemed to register what the mafioso was implying and he smirked right back. “Yeah. I like the sound of that.”

*

35) Lee Chuuya, Ler Dazai

“YOHOHOHOHOHOU FUHUHUHUHUHUCKING CHEHEHEHEHEHEATER!!”

“I’m not cheating. This is strategy~”

Chuuya screeched with hysterical laughter, arms flailing, trying to grab onto anything he could to get this all to stop – Dazai’s coat, his wrists, his stupid face – anything! But all he could manage to do was lay there in the freezing snow and laugh himself hoarse, unable to roll away and escape this torture thanks to Dazai’s ingenious positioning.

The brunette curled his fingers into the redhead’s inner thighs, pressing in with just the right amount of vibration, and Chuuya nearly wheezed as another round of laughter overtook him. He grasped a handful of snow and tried to shove it in the detective’s face, but all that did was make Dazai’s playful gaze turn playfully wicked.

“Still trying to win the snowball fight, eh, chibi?”

“I HAHAHAHAHAHAHATE YOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOU!!”

“Why don’t you give up? Then this will all be over, and I’ll be the winner, just as I should be.”

Despite his growing desperation to get out of this ridiculous position, Chuuya screamed, “LIKE HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHELL!!”

Dazai chuckled, and the sound only made the redhead panic even more. The next thing he knew there was pressure on his knees pinning his legs to the snow as well, and Dazai was leaning forward to kiss him, but he was still fucking tickling that goddamn spot—

Chuuya tried to wrench his mouth away so he could breathe, gasp for air, laugh his lungs out, but Dazai followed him relentlessly, never allowing him more than a split second between kisses that eventually descended to his neck just above his scarf.

“Give up, chibi?” Dazai teased into his ear before biting it playfully.

Chuuya was more than ready to give up – the tickling was driving him onto a whole other plane of existence, and he felt like if he didn’t get it to stop he was going to expire right here and now.

“STOP STOP FUHUHUHUHUHUCKING STOP DAHAHAHAHAHAHAZAI!!” Chuuya screamed, the desperation in his voice clear even to him, not that he cared about that right now. “I CAHAHAHAHAHAN’T ANYMORE, PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE STOP!!”

Mercifully, Dazai did in fact stop, immediately shifting his weight so he wasn’t pinning Chuuya but rather straddling him lightly, and he allowed the redhead a few moments to catch his breath and gain his bearings before leaning down to kiss him again and murmur, “I win~”

And Chuuya – thoroughly wiped out and beyond the capacity to fight back, his nerves still singing from the ticklish assault – managed only two words in response:

“Fuck. You.”

*

36) Lee Dazai, Ler Chuuya

Chuuya was always frowning.

Well, okay, not always – but often enough that getting a smile from him was a rare occurrence. It was so hard to get him to grin at something let alone laugh that when it did happen, Dazai cherished every moment.

Like now, when Chuuya’s eyes were bright and his lips turned upward in the barest hint of a smile as he gazed outside. It had been gloomy and snowy the last couple of days, but today it had finally let up, allowing the sun to light the city and warm up the streets with its rays.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Chuuya said now, turning to face his partner, schooling his features back into their usual indifference. “We’ve been stuck inside the last couple of days.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Dazai yawned, stretching out on the couch, getting comfortable. “I don’t want to go outside. It’s cold.” The truth was he wouldn’t mind going out with his partner; he just wanted to see that adorable look of frustration that would inevitably cross Chuuya’s face when he didn’t cave immediately.

It appeared seconds later, just as predicted. “Seriously? I’ve spent the last couple of days getting dragged into whatever you wanted to do to pass the time, but now you can’t go on a walk with me? What, are you too good for exercise now, detective?”

Dazai winced a little at the title. Chuuya only called him “detective” when he was upset. Whoops.

“Fine, fine,” the brunette relented with an exaggerated sigh. “But I might need a bit more convincing.”

The redhead glowered at him, then marched over to where he lay on the couch and plopped himself in Dazai’s lap, making his partner let out an “oomph!” of surprise. Then he used his two pointer fingers to jab into his ribs – not moving, not actually tickling, just sitting there threateningly…or perhaps promisingly.

“Come on a walk with me,” Chuuya said, smirking down at Dazai’s reddening cheeks and widening eyes, enjoying the wobbly smile that threatened to slip free already just at the tiniest hint of what was to come. “And when we get back, I’ll wreck you into next Sunday if that’s what you want.”

Dazai couldn’t help how flushed he’d suddenly become; it had been too long since the last time Chuuya had really destroyed him with tickles, and he’d missed it. Badly. “R-Really?”

Chuuya grinned one of his genuine grins and wiggled his two fingers, making Dazai choke on eager giggles and shoot his hands down reflexively. The redhead pulled away and winked when his partner pouted at him. “Only if you come with me.”

The brunette hesitated, but not for the reason Chuuya was probably thinking. “Can you…give me more now? Just a minute, I swear. Then I’ll go with you if you promise to wreck me when we get back.”

Chuuya blinked, then smirked, then burst into laughter, which both warmed Dazai’s heart and made him feel a tad embarrassed. But he didn’t have time to dwell on it, as the redhead was pinching and squeezing his sides within the next second, and Dazai gasped and giggled happily at the feeling.

“You want it bad, huh? All right,” Chuuya teased. “But you only get a minute of this until you get your ass off the couch and take a walk with me."

*

37) Lee Atsushi, Ler Akutagawa

Akutagawa reacted before he even thought about it.

“Weretiger!” he shouted, Rashomon flying out from his coat to wrap around Atsushi’s waist and pull him roughly forward just as the icicle broke off the ceiling and crashed where he’d been standing.

Startled, Atsushi turned around and blinked at the shattered ice on the ground, then turned back to thank Akutagawa only to realize they were now pressed up against each other, faces inches apart. He gulped.

Akutagawa’s eyes were hard, but the way Rashomon didn’t let go of him told Atsushi how upset he was. “Don’t stand directly beneath icicles like that, you idiot! I’m going to be the one to kill you, not some damn winter weather!”

Atsushi couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you.”

“Idiot,” Akutagawa said again, his eyes dropping to where Atsushi had his arms behind his back. He frowned. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing,” Atsushi said quickly.

Akutagawa gave it a moment, then leaned in to kiss him. The weretiger made a surprised noise, then melted into him, especially when the kiss lasted more than just a few seconds. Eventually Atsushi wrapped his arms around Akutagawa’s neck, and that was when the mafioso finally pulled away and smirked at him.

“You’ll have to let me go,” he teased. “And when you do, I’ll see what you’re hiding.”

Atsushi’s eyes widened, but then he smiled defiantly. “I don’t have to let you go.”

“Hmm.”

“Ah! Ahahahaha, wahahahahait, no fahahahahair!” Atsushi whined through a mess of giggles, desperately trying to keep his arms around Aku’s neck as his partner tickled his ribs and sides.

“Better show me, weretiger,” Akutagawa chuckled.

“Nohohohoho! Ahahahahahaku!” Atsushi blushed at the few people who had turned to look at them, grinning at the playful scene. “Stohohohohop, we’re in puhuhuhuhublic!”

“And?”

“You wohohohohouldn’t wahahahahant me to—”

He didn’t have to finish the sentence for Akutagawa to know that he was right. He stopped immediately, letting out a sigh. “Fine. If you don’t want me to see what you’re hiding—”

Atsushi shoved something into his chest, and Akutagawa looked down in surprise. He blinked. “A chocolate bar?”

“I was going to save it for Christmas Eve,” Atsushi admitted, blushing. “But you did save my life just now, so I guess you can have it early.”

Akutagawa took the chocolate bar, holding it almost reverently, then looked back up at his partner and drew him in for another kiss. Atsushi kissed him back, this time not caring about the looks they were getting. “Thank you,” the mafioso whispered after a moment, touching their foreheads together.

Atsushi smiled. “Merry Christmas, Ryu.”

*

38) Lee Atsushi, Ler Lucy

“You’re doing great, Lucy!” Atsushi encouraged, a gentle smile on his face as he drifted alongside the redheaded girl, who was hugging the wall of the skating rink as if her life depended on it. “You can let go now; I’ll be right here to catch you if you fall.”

Lucy huffed at him. “Easy for you to say, Mr. Catlike Balance. And don’t just say stuff like that so casually!”

“Huh?” He blinked at her, genuinely confused. “But it’s true. Come on, Lucy, you can let go.”

She grumbled under her breath, but eventually pried herself away from the wall one hand at a time, wobbling unsteadily but able to keep her balance for the most part. She attempted to push off gently, gliding forward two feet at a time.

“There you go, see? You’re a natural,” Atsushi praised, grinning, skating along beside her. It was true he was able to pick up ice skating fairly quickly thanks to his inner catlike qualities, but he thought Lucy was picking up relatively quickly in her own right, too.

“This is ridiculous,” she grumbled. “I look like a child.”

“Everyone has a first time on the ice, you know. It’s no problem. No one’s looking at you weird or anything.”

Lucy turned her head to glance around and confirm what he was saying, but the instant she did so her balance was lost, and she began to flail. Atsushi rushed forward to help her just as he promised, making sure she didn’t fall, but in her attempt to steady herself she grabbed onto the nearest thing – which happened to be the weretiger’s hips.

Had he reacted any differently, she’d have been mortified at herself. But the way he squeaked and giggled while never letting go of her only made her blink at him in surprise.

“Atsushi?” she asked. “What was that?”

“N-Nothing,” he murmured, gently guiding her hands back to the wall instead of his waist. “I’m just kind of ticklish there. You surprised me.”

Lucy stared at him, then gave him a playful smirk. “Ooh, ticklish, huh?”

Atsushi whimpered, but it was no use. She reached for him again, this time holding his waist while tickling his ribs, and he squealed with giggles again, attempting to back up but taking her with him thanks to her grip on him, and soon they were both too far away from the wall to fall back on it if need be. Others skated by them with knowing looks in their eyes, but Atsushi could only giggle and squirm in her arms.

“Luhuhuhuhucy!” he whined. “Plehehehehehease!”

“What’s the matter?” she teased back, far too pleased with herself. “Don’t cats like getting their bellies rubbed?”

He’d have argued that he was a tiger, not a cat, but he was too wrapped up in his own laughter to manage it. What had started as an ice skating lesson for Lucy quickly turned into a giggly, tickly dance on the ice for both of them.

He couldn’t quite bring himself to say he didn’t enjoy it.

*

39) Lee Fyodor, Ler Dazai

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Dazai,” Fyodor said as he put on his coat, reaching for the doorknob.

Suddenly a hand was on his wrist, tugging him away from the front door. “Baby, it’s cold outside~” Dazai sang in what was probably supposed to be a purposely bad singing voice.

Fyodor smirked a little. “I’m not staying the night.”

“Baby, it’s cold outside~”

“You realize this song implies the singers wish to engage in some kind of unseemly activity—”

Dazai tugged him away again, further into the living room, grinning. “Baby, it’s cold outside~”

“Is that all you’re going to say?”

“I’ll say a lot more if you stay the night with me,” Dazai replied, wrapping his arms around Fyodor’s waist. “Come on, it’s Christmas Eve. What’s the point in leaving? You’ll be here in the morning, won’t you?”

“If I stay, you know you’ll try to convince me to do something other than sleep, and I’m not in the mood for—”

Suddenly the detective had whirled him around and pushed him back onto the couch with an “oomph!”, straddling his lap as he smiled at him innocently. “Beautiful, what’s your hurry~?”

“Dazai—”

“Your eyes are like starlight now~”

“You’re singing it all out of order, you goofball—”

With a mighty flourish, Dazai reached his personal crescendo while sliding his hands up Fyodor’s back to trace along his spine. “Baby, it’s cold outside!”

“Ah!” Fyodor gasped, a wobbly smile on his lips now as he arched away from the detective’s touch. “Dazai, dohohon’t—!”

“Won’t you stay, bunny?” Dazai teased into his ear as he began to tickle lightly, drawing muffled giggles out of his partner. “I promise we can just cuddle and sleep, nothing else. Unless you want to~”

“Wihihihihihill you lehehehehehet me tahahahahahalk, dahahahahamn it?!” Fyodor cried, unable to help his wide smile and blushing cheeks as Dazai darted around to scratch at his sides. “Fihihihine, fine, I’ll stahahahahahay, you evil gehehehehehenius!”

“Evil genius? Me? Better check the mirror, bunny,” Dazai teased, then kissed him before he could protest further.

They did, in fact, only cuddle and sleep as promised – with some light tickles thrown in on both sides to make the night a bit more fun.

*

40) Lee Poe, Ler Ranpo

It was exceedingly difficult to focus on the task at hand when Ranpo kept trying to show off all these different writing quills.

To be fair, they were beautiful – pretty designs, soft plumes, and the pens themselves were of very fine quality. Poe would have been happy to own any of them. But Ranpo’s enthusiasm was distracting him, because while they would have made excellent writing tools, they would also been great tools for…other things.

“Look at this one,” Ranpo said excitedly, grabbing Poe’s hand and brushing the feather end of the quill along his palm. “Sooo soft, right? You would hardly feel it!”

I’d feel it in other ways, Poe thought, but cleared his throat and managed, “Y-Yes, quite so. It is very nice.”

“Ooh, or this one!” The detective swapped it out with yet another quill, and so their afternoon continued.

They’d gone out with the singular mission of finding gifts for the other members of the ADA. It was a half-date, half-errand, and Poe was happy to spend time with him either way. But those quills…

“I want to get one for you,” Ranpo said suddenly, squinting up at him. “Which one is your favorite?”

“Huh?” Poe sputtered, growing even more flustered at the thought of owning one of those beautiful, tickly quills. “I-I…we’re not here for…”

Ranpo waved his hand. “I know, I know. But I still have to find a gift for you, too, and I think one of these would be perfect. You like them, don’t you?”

“Y-Yes,” Poe admitted.

“Then pick one! Which one is calling out to you? Which one can you see yourself writing the next bestselling novel with?”

Poe’s eyes roamed over the array of quills Ranpo had shown off to him so far.

Then suddenly the detective had pulled him down to whisper in his ear. “And which one do you think would tickle the most?”

“Huh-wha?!” Poe staggered back, slapping a hand over his mouth to keep from screeching. His eyes were wide, but Ranpo’s were knowing. Too knowing.

“You can’t get anything past me. I’ve seen the way your eyes light up every time I brush one along your hand or arm. So, pick your favorite, and later we’ll have some fun with it to break it in. Okay?”

Poe blushed, but he couldn’t deny that Ranpo was right. Shakily, he reached out for the one with the softest plume; it was a bonus that it also happened to look pretty. He barely had it off the shelf before Ranpo had snatched it from him, wiggling along his ear playfully.

“Ranpo,” Poe hissed out a giggle, covering his mouth again. “Not here!”

“Don’t worry, Poe,” Ranpo teased, winking at him. “I won’t let anyone else have the privilege of seeing you laugh your heart out while I tickle you with this~”